An Experimental Study on the Energy Separation Performance of a Counter-Flow Ranque-Hilch Vortex Tube with Different Hot Tubes

This investigation is to analyze experimentally the effect of different hot tubes on the energy separation performance of a counter-flow Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube and to study their influence on nozzle numbers. To examine the influence of different materials, interchangeable hot tubes made with plexiglass, teflon, steel, and aluminum were used in experimental vortex tube. To understand how the optimum number of nozzles is influenced by the change of hot tube material, vortex generators made of brass with nozzles numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were used in the vortex tube. Experimental results indicate that hot tubes with different materials influence the heating and cooling performance of Ranque-Hilsch vortex tubes with an increasing inlet pressure and higher nozzle numbers (N > 3). Specifically, plastic tubes exhibited decreased cooling performance with increasing nozzle numbers, while metal tubes exhibited increased cooling performance. Plexiglass hot tubes have a higher COPcooling 55% than aluminum hot tubes at an input pressure of 2 bar.

Automated summary

This investigation aims to experimentally analyze the effect of different hot tubes on the energy separation performance of a counter-flow Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube and study their influence on nozzle numbers. Interchangeable hot tubes made of plexiglass, teflon, steel, and aluminum were used to examine the influence of different materials. Brass vortex generators with nozzle numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were used to understand how the optimum number of nozzles is influenced by the change of hot tube material. Experimental results indicate that hot tubes with different materials have an impact on the heating and cooling performance of the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tubes, especially with increasing inlet pressure and higher nozzle numbers (N > 3). Plastic tubes show decreased cooling performance with increasing nozzle numbers, while metal tubes show increased cooling performance. Plexiglass hot tubes have a higher COPcooling of 55% compared to aluminum hot tubes at an input pressure of 2 bar.