• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 2004

The process of energy separation in a low pressure vortex tube with compressed air as a working medium is studied in detail. Experimental data of the temperature of the cold and hot air leaving the vortex tube are presented. The variation of the maximum wall temperature along the inner surface of a vortex tube and the temperature distribution in a vortex tube provide useful information about the location of the stagnation point of the flow field at the axis of the vortex tube Analysis of the results enabled to find the optimum ratio of nozzle area and the optimum shape of an orifice. From this optimum geometric setup of a low pressure and big vortex tube the effectiveness of energy separation was better than a high pressure and small vortex tube.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.8-15
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• 2007

The jet impingement cooling characteristics are investigated experimentally. The study is motivated by the potential application of local hot spot cooling by means of the vortex tube. The purposes of this research are to examine the effect of the nozzle-block spacing and flow rate. The results of jet through vortex tube is compared with ones of circular Jet. Flow visualization by the smoke-wire technique is also performed to investigate the flow structure. As the nozzle-block spacing is increased and flow rate decreased, the cooling effect of the Jet through the vortex tube decreases mere remarkably than that of the circular jet. So the cooling effect for the jet through the vortex tube is higher than that for the circular jet at $H/D{\leq}3$, $Q{\geq}10m^3/h$.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.703-710
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• 2000

Energy separation characteristic occurring in a counterflow vortex tube was studied experimentally, where air, $C_2$, and R22 were used as working fluids. The experiments were carried out with pressure ratio from 3 to 8 and cold mass fraction(y) from 0.1 to 0.9. As results, Ranque-Hilsch effect showed different results from adiabatic expansion process. Temperature difference in vortex tube outlet was affected by Joule-Thomson effect as well as Ranque-Hilsch effect. The more effective the energy separation was, the more increased the entropy in the cold oulet of vortex tube was.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.692-699
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• 1999

The vortex tube is a sample device for separating a compressed gaseous fluid stream into two flows of high and low temperature without any chemical reactions. The phenomena of energy separation through the vortex tube were investigated experimentally, to see the effects of the number of nozzle holes on the energy separation. The experiment was carried out with the number of nozzle holes from 1 to 10 by varying inlet pressure and cold mass fraction. The experimental results were indicated that the effective number of nozzle holes for the best cooling performance was found as 4. Also, to find effective use in a given operation conditions, the temperature difference of cold air and the cooling capacity of vortex tube was compared. The result is that cooling capacity was more important than temperature difference of cold air.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.845-852
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• 2001

The phenomena of energy separation in vortex tubes was investigated experimentally to see the effects of the conductivity of a tube and convective heat transfer on the outer surface of a tube. The experiment was carried out with different conductivity (pyrex, stainless steel and copper) of a tube and three kinds of convective heat transfer modes (adiabatic condition, natural convection (air) and forced convection (water) on the outer surface of a tube. the results were obtained that hot exit fluid temperature was highly affected by a change of conductivity of a tube when the outer surface was cooled by the forced convection of water. However, the cold exit temperature was little affected by heat transfer modes on the outer surface in vortex tubes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.68-76
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• 2018

A vortex tube is a simple energy separating device that splits a compressed air stream into a cold and hot stream without any external energy supply or chemical reactions. The efforts of many researchers and designers have been focused on improvement of vortex tube efficiency by changing the parameters affecting vortex tube operation. The effective parameters are nozzle specifications and inflow pressure conditions. Effects of different nozzle cross-sectional area and number of nozzles are evaluated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. In this study, CFD analysis of 3-D steady state and turbulent flow through a vortex tube was performed. We investigated the cold air mass flow rate, the cold air temperature, and the cold air heat transfer rate behavior of a vortex tube by utilizing seven straight nozzles and four inflow pressure conditions.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.84-93
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• 2001

The aim of this study is to provide fundamental informations that make it possible to use a cool stream and a hot stream simultaneously. We changed the pressure of compressed air that flows into a tube, the inner diameter of orifice that a cold stream exits, and the mass flow rate ratio. And in each case, we measured the temperature of a cold stream and a hot stream in each exit of a tube. Also we measured the axial temperature distribution and the radial temperature distribution in internal space of a tube. From the study, following conclusive remarks can be made. Average flow rate that flows into a tube is in proportion to square root of inlet pressure. As inlet pressure increases axial and radial temperature distribution in the inner space of vortex-tube increase. As mass flow rate ratio change, separation point moves.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2008

A numerical simulation has been conducted to investigate the physics of the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube. Even though currently available turbulent models cannot predict such complex flow accurately, it was expected that the simulation would enlighten underlying physics qualitatively. The balance of energy on a fluid particle moving along some typical streamlines through shear work and heat transfer was investigated to explain the physics of energy separation process. It was found that the heat transfer cancels major part of the energy separation done by shear work. It was also found that the most of energy separation occur near inlet and hot outlet.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.667-673
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• 2001

As an alternative cooling method to reduce environmental hazard, vortex tubes have been studied for energy separation into cold and hot streams. Hence, the experiments were carried out systematically to find the best ratio of vortex chamber diameter to tube diameter. Also, the work was don to investigate how inlet pressure and geometric ratios of vortex tube affected temperature differences at tow needs as ell as cooling capacity and cooling efficiency. The result showed that the maximum temperature differences at the both ends and the maximum cooling efficiency were obtained when the ratio of vortex chamber diameter was about 1.45, while the inlet pressure ws not higher than 0.7 MPa.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.69-76
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• 2002

The aim of this study is to provide fundamental informations that make it possible to use a cool stream and a hot stream simultaneously. We changed the pressure of compressed air that flows into a tube, the inner diameter of orifice that a cold stream exits, and the mass flow rate ratio. And in each case, we measured the temperature of a cold stream and a hot stream in each exit of a tube. Also we measured the axial and the radial temperature distribution in internal spare of a tube. From the study, fellowing conclusive remarks 7an be made. First, As the number of nozzles increase, separation point move into the hot exit. Second, When we use guide vane type nozzle, the axial temperature distribution constant over the 0.75 of air mass flow rate radio. Third, When we use Spiral type nozzle, axial and radial temperature distribution in the inner space is higher than another nozzle. Fourth, Axial and radial temperature distribution in the inner space vortex-tube is determined by separation point. And separation point is moved by changing of air mass flow rate ratio. At last, A heating apparatus is possible far vortex-tube to use.