Project Report

on

EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

OF VORTEX TUBE REFRIGERATOR

For the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
by
Mr. Swagat D Karekar
B80800822
Mr. Akshay C Mirasdar
B80800841
Mr. Jay O Bamb
B80800845

Guided by
Prof. Vinay V. Ankolekar
Assistant Professor, BSCOER Narhe, Pune
Maharashtra

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

BHIVARABAI SAWANT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND RESEARCH,
NARHE, PUNE 411041 (MS)
2013 - 2014

EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

OF VORTEX TUBE REFRIGERATOR

______________________________________
A project report submitted to the
Bhivarabai Sawant College of Engineering and Research, Narhe,
University of Pune, Pune

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
by

Mr. Swagat D Karekar

Mr. Akshay C Mirasdar
Mr. Jay O Bamb

B80800822
B80800841
B80800845

Under the guidance of

Prof. Vinay V Ankolekar

Assistant Professor, BSCOER Narhe, Pune
Maharashtra

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Pune, 411041 (MS)
2013 2014

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

ii

ABBREVIATIONS

iii

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

vi

CHAPTER

PAGE

TITLE

NO.

NO.
1

1-23

INTRODUCTION
1.1

Principle and theory

1.2

Working

1.3

Types of Vortex Tube

1.3.1 Counter-flow Vortex tube

1.3.2 Uni-flow Vortex tube

1.3.3 Dividing vortex tube

1.3.4 Uncooled vortex tube

10

1.3.5 Cooled Vortex tube

10

1.3.6 Dividing vortex tube additional stream

11

1.3.7 Triple-stream vortex tube

11

1.3.8 Self-evacuating vortex tube

12

1.3.9 Vortex ejectors

13

1.4

Types and number of inlet nozzles

13

1.5

Advantages

15

1.6

Limitations

16

1.7

Applications

18

24-31

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

2.2

Experimental research on vortex tube

24

2.1.1 Thermo-physical parameters

27

2.1.2 Geometrical parameters

28

Theoretical research on vortex tube

2.2.1 Adiabatic

compression

and

adiabatic

29
29

expansion model

2.2.2 Effect of friction and turbulence

29

2.2.3 Acoustic streaming model

30

2.2.4 Secondary circulation model

31

DESIGN OF VORTEX TUBE

3.1

3.2

Important equations

32

3.1.1 Cold mass fraction

32

3.1.2 Cold and hot temperature difference

33

3.1.3 Normalised temperature drop/rise

33

3.1.4 Cold orifice diameter

34

3.1.5 Isentropic efficiency

34

3.1.6 Coefficient of performance

35

Design of vortex tube

38

3.2.1 Maximum temperature drop tube design

38

3.2.2 Maximum temperature drop tube design

41

COST ESTIMATION
4.1

32-44

Details of Material Purchased and their

45-47
46

Cost

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

FUTURE SCOPE

48-51
52
53-55

7.1

Further research

53

7.2

Future developments

54

REFERENCES

56-57

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my privilege to express deep gratitude to everyone who has rendered valuable

help in presenting this dissertation work.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my guide
Prof V V Ankolekar, for whom I have greatest amount of respect and admiration. He
has not only afforded me the opportunity to work on this topic but also provided valuable
guidance and support throughout my time as a student in Mechanical Engineering
Department, Bhivarabai Swant College of Engineering and Research, Narhe, Pune (MS).
His enthusiasm, interest and inspiration, was a constant source of motivation for my
encouragement. I am greatly thanking him for sparing his precious time, help and
patience in the betterment of my dissertation work.
I am sincerely thankful to Dr (Prof) D V Jadhav, Principal, and Prof. P. R.
Kale, Head of Mechanical Engineering department, for their kind guidance and support
throughout this project work.
I express my deep gratitude to all staff members of Mechanical Engineering
Department for providing me valuable suggestions and help during my project work. I
would like to thanks to all my friends, especially who have helped me extensively right
from the beginning of the project.
And last but not least the backbone of my success & confidence lies solely on the
blessing of my parents. I owe my loving thanks to them. They have lost a lot due to my
work. Without their encouragement and understanding, it would have been impossible for
me to nish this work.

Mr. Swagat D Karekar

Mr. Akshay C Mirasdar
Mr. Jay O Bamb

ABSTRACT
A vortex tube is a structurally simple device with no moving parts that is capable
of separating a high pressure flow into two low pressure flows with different energies,
usually manifested as a difference in temperatures. The vortex tube is relatively
inefficient as a standalone device because its COP is very low as compared to a VapourCompression refrigeration cycle.
The effects of cold fraction, number of nozzles, orifice diameter, inlet pressure,
hot end diameter and angle are experimentally investigated. The use of vortex tube for
small capacity applications is always justified if the compressed air is readily available,
because of lack of moving parts, non-requirement of external power like electricity. Main
application is spot cooling. In this way it is ideal for use in situations where safety is
critical or maintenance is difficult.

Keywords: No moving parts, Energy Separation, Critical conditions

ii

ABBREVIATIONS
Symbol

Description

Outlet Valve Angle

AC

c/s area of cold orifice

AN

c/s area of nozzle

AT

c/s area of vortex tube

Cold orifice Diameter Ratio

CFD

Computational Fluid Dynamics

COP

Coefficient of Performance

Vortex tube diameter

DC

Cold orifice diameter

DN

Diameter of nozzle

Cold mass fraction

enthalpy

Thermal conductivity

Length of vortex tube

MC

Mass flow rate of cold stream

Mi

Total / inlet mass flow rate

Direction of rotation

pressure

Heat energy

RHVT

Ranque-Hilsch Vortex tube

iii

Entropy

TC

Cold temperature

Tin

Inlet temperature

Th

Hot air temperature

Internal energy

Work done on system

Mechanical energy used in cooling

Specific heat ratio

iv

LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter
No.

Figure

Title of Figure

No.

01

Page
No.

INTRODUCTION
1.1

Flow Pattern Inside The Vortex Tube

1.2

Energy Separation in a Counter-Flow Vortex

Tube
1.3

Interior of Vortex Tube

1.4

Counterflow Vortex Tube

1.5

Uniflow Vortex Tube

1.6

Dividing Vortex Tube

1.7

Cooled Vortex Tube

10

1.8

Dividing vortex Tube with Additional Stream

11

1.9

Triple-stream Vortex tube

12

1.10

Self-evacuating Vortex tube

12

1.11

Vortex Ejector

13

1.12

Conventional Nozzle

15

1.13

Nozzle of Archimedes

15

1.14

Recompression Chamber

18

1.15

Cooling Blow Molded fuel tanks

20

1.16

Cooling an Ultrasonic Weld

20

1.17

Joule-Thomson Refrigeration Cycle

21

1.18

Vortex Tube Refrigeration Cycle

22

03

DESIGN OF VOTEX TUBE

3.1

Different Orifice Diameters

35

3.2

Different Number of Nozzles

37

3.3

Vortex Tube Test Rig

44

05

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1

Graph of Pressure vs. Temperature

49

LIST OF TABLES
Chapter Table
No.

Title of Table

Page

No.

02

No.
LITERATURE OVERVIEW

2.1

Summary of Experimental Studies on Vortex Tube

24

2.2

Summary of Numerical Studies on Vortex Tube

26

2.3

Lengths and Diameters of Vortex Tube Used By Other

31

Researchers
03

DESIGN OF VORTEX TUBE

3.1

Geometrical Parameters of Vortex Tube

43

3.2

Thermo-Physical Properties of Working Medium

43

04

COST ESTIMATION
4.1

05

Expenditure for the Project

45

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

5.1

Observations of Vortex Tube Test Rig

vi

48

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The vortex tube (also called Ranque Hilsch vortex tube) is a simple mechanical
device which splits a compressed gas stream into cold and hot streams without any
chemical reactions or external energy supply. This device separates an isothermal
compressed gas flow into two different flows with different temperatures. It has
advantages compared to other refrigerating or heating devices in point of being
simple, small and light, having low cost, using no electricity or chemicals and having
long operation time. Cold gas stream leaves the tube through a central orifice near the
entrance nozzle, while hot gas stream flows toward regulating valve and leaves the
tube.
The vortex tube was invented in 1933 by French physicist Georges J. Ranque.
and German physicist Rudolf Hilsch improved the design and published a widely read
paper in 1947 on the device, which he called a Wirbelrohr (literally, whirl pipe). The
vortex tube was used to separate gas mixtures, oxygen and nitrogen, carbon dioxide
and helium, carbon dioxide and air in 1967 by Linderstrom-Lang. Vortex tubes also
seem to work with liquids to some extent, as demonstrated by Hsueh and Swenson in
a laboratory experiment where free body rotation occurs from the core and a thick
boundary layer at the wall. Air is separated causing a cooler air stream coming out the
exhaust hoping to chill as a refrigerator. In 1988 R.T.Balmer applied liquid water as
the working medium. It was found that when the inlet pressure is high, for instance
20-50 bar, the heat energy separation process exists in incompressible (liquids) vortex
flow as well.
When high-pressure gas (6 bar) is tangentially injected into the vortex chamber via
the inlet nozzles, a swirling flow is created inside the vortex chamber. When the gas
swirls to the center of the chamber, it is expanded and cooled. In the vortex chamber,
part of the gas swirls to the hot end, and another part exist via the cold exhaust
directly. Part of the gas in the vortex tube reverses for axial component of the velocity
and move from the hot end to the cold end. At the hot exhaust, the gas escapes with a

higher temperature, while at the cold exhaust, the gas has a lower temperature
compared to the inlet temperature. [11]
A Vortex tube has the following advantages compared to the normal commercial
refrigeration device: simple, no moving parts, no electricity or chemicals, small and
lightweight, low cost, maintenance free, instant cold air, durable (because of the
stainless steel and clean working media), adjustable temperature. But, its low thermal
efficiency is a main limiting factor for its application. Also the noise and availability
of compressed gas may limit its application. Therefore, when compactness, reliability
and lower equipment cost are the main factors and the operating efficiency becomes
less important, the RHVT becomes a nice device for heating gas, cooling gas,
cleaning gas, drying gas, and separating gas mixtures, DNA application, liquefying
natural gas and other purposes [11
1.1 Principle and Theory
The theory of the Hilsch vortex tube, which is also known by the name RanqueHilsch vortex tube dates back to the 1930s where French physicist George Ranque
invented an early prototype. Around 1945 when the German army occupied most of
France, Rudolf Hilsch, a German physicist improved Ranques design to create a
better version of the tube.
The tube was named after the inventors, but most often it is attributed to Hilsch,
who paid a notable contribution to the improvement of vortex tube. In the middle
section of the tube is the inlet for the compressed air. Note that the inlet is much
closer to the cold outlet than the hot outlet. There is a very important aspect of the
tube related to this feature which will be discussed shortly. The middle part which
says spiral chamber in this part. This spiral chamber is the essential component of the
tube because it is the source of the hot and cold separation of the gas. How it works is
based primarily on the physics of rotational motion and on Maxwells law of random
distribution as shown in Fig 1.1
Following the introduction of the compressed working fluid into the vortex tube
tangentially, in the linear momentum of the working fluid is converted to the angular
momentum. Because of the centrifugal characteristics of the forced vortex flow, the

Fig 1.1 Flow Pattern Inside the Vortex Tube

peripheral fluid led to the annular space has a higher angular momentum, therefore
kinetic energy, than that of the fluid in the central region. Naturally, this fact results in
the temperature near the tube wall to be higher than that in the central part.
Maxwells law states is the basis of the kinetic theory of gases, which in turn helps
explain fundamental properties of gases such as diffusion and pressure. Usually the
law refers to velocity, but can also be applied to molecular momentum. In this
particular case, we are focusing on velocities of all the molecules in the spiral
chamber. From the law scientists can create what are known as Maxwell-Boltzmann
distribution functions, which have importance in physics and chemistry.
Since the velocity of these molecules near the tube wall is higher than the initial
velocity as the gas entered the tube, these molecules have higher kinetic energy. Note
that the change in kinetic energy must have come from somewhere; the only logical
possibility is that internal molecular energy was converted to kinetic energy because
there are no power sources or other work being done on the compressed air. Also note
that somewhere upstream, work had to be done on the air to compress it, which

critical in showing that the tube does not violate any thermodynamic laws.

Fig. 1.2 Energy Separation in a Counter Flow Vortex Tube

The first law of thermodynamics states that the increase of internal energy of a
thermodynamic system is equal to the amount of heat energy added to the system
minus the work done on the system by its surroundings
Mathematically, this law is
U=QW

.................. Eqn (1)

Or, written in differential form,

dU = dQ dW

................... Eqn (2)

In the equations, U refers to internal energy of the system, Q refers to heat of the
system, and W refers to the work done on the system by its surroundings. Applying
equation [1] to the vortex tube, the thermodynamic law reduces to equation [3] below:
dU = dQ

.................. Eqn (3)

Since no work is done on the system. This means that any change in internal energy is
related to a change in heat of the system.
The first law applies as the gas enters the tube because as it begins to spin and create
the vortex, since no work is done on the system, internal energy must be converted to
kinetic energy and hence a temperature drop occurs in all molecules as internal energy
also drops. Fig 1.2 shows an estimated schematic of how the air moves within the
tube.

Once the initial internal energy drop occurs and the gas begins diffusing in the
forced vortex pattern, kinetic energies of the molecules begin to change. As the
molecules diffuse towards the tube wall, their kinetic energy must be high because
they require more energy to rotate around in the direction where the radius of
rotation is maximum than molecules close to the center, where the radius is zero
There is also a pressure gradient from diffusion in the radial direction that helps
propel kinetic energy to the molecules at the tube walls. As a result of this pressure
gradient, the overall energy (kinetic and potential) of molecules at the tube walls will
be higher than the molecules at the tube axis as shown in Fig1.2
Looking back for a moment, one can now understand why the cold outlet valve
is much closer to the inlet than the hot outlet valve. As the molecules travel down the
tube, the molecules begin slowly in both the z- and directions. This slowing is a
reduction in the axial convection of the vortex as it moves down the tube. In other
words, the molecules diffusion rate slows down as the gas fills more space and
relieves pressure, causing a slower propagation of the molecules down the line. As
this happens, less kinetic energy is used and converted back to internal energy, which
in turn increases the temperature of the gas. Since the original radial pressure gradient
caused a flow of kinetic energy towards the outer molecules, they have more kinetic
energy to convert back to internal energy and hence have higher temperature. This
conversion of the kinetic energy separation into a thermal energy separation is known
as viscous dissipation of kinetic energy.
The reason the cold outlet is close to the inlet as a result of the desire to reduce
the effects of viscous dissipation of kinetic energy. The outlet must be close to the
inlet because the further away it gets, the more viscous dissipation will occur and
hence the higher the gas temperature will be. The reason the cold outlet is not directly
next to the inlet is to give the system space to utilize the radial pressure gradient and
to transfer kinetic energy to the molecules at the tube wall. The outlet then is logically
positioned to remove gas from the center of the tube. The hot outlet is positioned
further from the inlet than the cold outlet is for similar reasons. Instead of getting the
air out quickly to keep it cold, the scientist lets it travel farther down the tube,
warming up by prolonged viscous dissipation of kinetic energy. As the gas travels

down the tube, axial convection also decreases, reducing the gradient of temperature
and pressure down the tube to make a more unified stream. By the time the stream
reaches the outlet, nearly all of it is the same temperature and has a higher
temperature than the inlet due to the increase kinetic energy it had initially. The outlet
is drawn from the tube walls though to obtain the molecules with maximum high
temperature.
Other than the theory behind how the vortex tube works, there are two other
major theories that drive this experiment. The first and second laws of
thermodynamics will hopefully hold the key to explaining why the tube is not
miraculously producing something from nothing. The first and second laws give rise
to the Enthalpy and Entropy balances respectively.
These balances are two equations that show how the thermodynamic variables of
enthalpy (H) and entropy (S) are maintained and conserved in the system. Enthalpy
can be considered to be the amount of heat energy, in whatever form, a substance or
system contains. This includes internal energy, work done on the system, etc. Entropy
is a measure of randomness in a system, or in other words the amount of energy that is
not free to do work. The two balances will hopefully prove that the system is not
getting a Temperature change for free.
At a pressure drop ratio of 5 and ambient temperature, temperature differences of
30 K (or 10 % of ambient) are easily obtained, sufficient for simple refrigeration.
In a conventional refrigeration system, there is a compressor, so the work power
is the input power of the compressor. But in the RHVT system, usually a compressed
gas source is used, so it is not easy to define the work power.

1.2 Working
How can cold air and hot air be obtained from one compressed-air stream. Lots of
people have tried to explain it, including the French physicist who invented the
Vortex Tube in the 1930's, Georges Ranque. Many different theories have been put
forward.

Vortex Tubes behave in a very predictable and controllable way. When compressed
air is released into the tube through the vortex generator, you get hot air out of one
end of the tube

Fig.1.3 Interior of Vortex Tube

and cold air out the other. In Fig1.3 a small valve in the hot end, adjustable with the
handy control knob, lets you adjust the volume and temperature of air released from
the cold end.
The vortex generatoran interchangeable, stationary partregulates the volume of
compressed air, allowing you to alter the air flows and temperature ranges you can
produce with the tube.

1.3 Types of Vortex tube [9]

Vortex tubes are classified by their main technological and design features: flow
configuration, the method of heat supply (removal), and how removal of low-pressure
gas streams is organized. For the positioning of the cold exhaust, there are two
different types: counter flow vortex tubes and parallel flow (uniflow) vortex tubes.
Vortex tubes are classified as uncooled (adiabatic) and cooled (non-adiabatic)
according to the method of heat supply (removal). On the other hand according to the
how removal of low-pressure gas streams is organized vortex tubes are called as
dividing vortex tubes, self-evacuating vortex tubes, and vortex ejectors.

1.3.1 Counter-Flow Vortex Tubes

In counter flow vortex tubes the cold exhaust is placed on the other side from
the hot exhaust, as shown in Fig. 1.4. The working gas is tangentially injected into
vortex tube via inlet nozzles positioned next to the cold exhaust. A strongly swirling
flow is created and the gas proceeds along the tube. The outer region of the flow is
found to be warmer than the inlet gas, while gas towards the centre of the tube
experiences cooling. Part of the gas in the vortex tube reverses for axial component of
the velocity, and it moves from the hot end to the cold end. An orifice positioned just
behind the flow inlets separates the cool central gas, which then exits the tube at the
left hand side. The warm peripheral flow leaves at the right hand side of the tube,
where a valve is positioned to allow regulation of the relative quantities of hot and
cold gas.

Fig. 1.4 Counterflow Vortex Tube

1.3.2 Uniflow Vortex tube

When the cold exhaust is placed at the same side of the hot exhaust, it is named
uniflow (or parallel flow) vortex tubes. The fundamental aspects of this
configuration are the same as for the counter flow tube. Its distinguishing features are
that the orifice and valve are combined at one end of the tube, while other end of the
tube, adjacent to the inlet nozzles is sealed (Fig.1.5). Many investigators have

suggested that uniflow tubes perform less well than equivalently proportional counter
flow designs. So, most of the time, the counter flow geometry has been chosen.

Fig. 1.5 Uniflow Vortex Tube

1.3.3 Dividing Vortex Tubes

Figure shows a dividing vortex tube schematically. The dividing vortex tube is
the best-known and most widespread type of RHVTs. It has both cold and hot flow. It
has up to ten designs, as shown in Fig. 1.6, and is used on various industries.

Fig. 1.6 Dividing Vortex Tube

1.3.4 Uncooled (Adiabatic) Vortex Tubes

Adiabatic vortex tubes are the ones where heat transfers to environment are neglected.
It is distinguished from other vortex tubes; however, by maximum cooling power,
which allows it to be used most efficiently at the higher temperature level in a
combined regenerative throttling cycle

1.3.5 Cooled (Nonadiabatic) Vortex Tubes

Nonadiabatic vortex tubes are ones heat transfer from the hot fluid to a cooling fluid
occurs. These tubes are also called cooled vortex tube. Figure 1.7 shows such a
cooled vortex tube schematically. The cooled vortex tube differs from the dividing
vortex tubes in that its hot end is closed, it is fitted with an outer jacket which is fed a
cooling fluid, and all the gas entering the nozzle inlet emerges cooled
(2030 K) through the diaphragm aperture, i.e. in the given case = 1. The cooling
vortex tube does not produce strong cooling effects. It is distinguished from other
vortex tubes; however, by maximum cooling power, which allows it to be used most
efficiently at the higher temperature level in a combined regenerative throttling cycle.

Fig 1.7 Cooled Vortex Tube

10

1.3.6 Dividing Vortex Tube with an Additional Stream

Another configuration of the dividing vortex tube is one with an additional
stream, as presented in Fig. 1.8. At the hot end, in the center of the control valve,
there is an orifice which allows feedback gas to be injected into the vortex tube. These
tubes are also called as double circuit vortex tubes. First circuit consists of a
peripheral vortex circuit with the working fluid entering the tube through the nozzles.
Second circuit is an axial vortex circuit composed of additional gas entering vortex
tube through the orifice at the hot end. The dividing vortex tube with an additional
stream ensures that <1, provided that additional gas at a low excess pressure is fed
from the hot end in the reduced pressure zone on the axis. The dividing vortex tube
with an additional stream clearly demonstrated that energy exchange can occur
between the peripheral vortex and the non-twisted axial gas flow with a fairly strong
cooling effect: the adiabatic efficiency is 0.36 at an outlet pressure of 0.4 MPa; this is
30% higher than the results obtained on vortex tubes of a different design. This design
allows to increase the cooling power of the system and to enhance the performance of
the vortex tube.

Fig 1.8 Dividing Vortex Tube with Additional Stream

1.3.7 Triple-Stream Vortex Tube

The triple-stream vortex tube, in contrast to an ordinary dividing vortex tube, has an
internal cylinder (tube) that forms with the casing an annular gap into which is fed the
condensate that is thrown to the periphery (Fig. 1.9). The amount of condensate

11

separated directly in the triple stream vortex tube may be 4090% of the total
condensate in the gas. This indicates the high efficiency of the tube as a separator.

Fig 1.9 Triple-Stream Vortex Tube

1.3.8 Self-Evacuating Vortex Tube

The self-evacuating vortex tube is characterized by the maximum cooling effect (of
all vortex tubes) because of a pressure drop in the paraxial zone by installing one or
two non-twisted slot diffusers at the hot end (Fig.1.10). The self evacuating vortex
tube does not allow a cold gas stream to be emitted into the environment and is
intended primarily for deep cooling of cylindrical bodies.

Fig 1.10 Self-Evacuating Vortex Tube

12

1.3.9 Vortex Ejectors

The vortex ejector, given certain geometric parameters and gas dynamic conditions,
can produce and maintain a pressure below the atmosphere in the paraxial zone.
Vortex ejectors (Fig. 1.11) differ from conventional direct-jet ejectors in that they
have a smoother characteristic and maintain sufficient efficiency over a wide range of
variation of the initial parameters.

Fig 1.11 Vortex Ejector

1.4 Types and Number of Inlet Nozzles

In vortex tubes, types of vortex chambers, types and number of inlet nozzles are
quite important. Many investigations have been carried out on different types and
number of nozzles to arrive at the optimum profile of the inlet nozzle and number of
nozzles. All investigations reported that the inlet nozzles should be designed so that
the flow be tangentially into vortex tube. Most vortex chambers are circular with a
single circular nozzle inlet. Martynovskii and Alekseev designed three different
chamber configurations, including one called a Hilsch Whorl, and concluded that a
circular chamber with two nozzles was the most efficient. In 1957, Westley used

13

multiple rectangular nozzles entering a circular chamber. Reynolds suggested that the
inlet nozzle should be in the form of a slot. Reynolds suggested having more slots in
the RHVT. He noted that more slots do improve the performance as well. Metenin
used six tangential nozzles and in 1964 he designed one nozzle called as Archimedean
spiral, as shown in Fig. Parulekar suggested that the designs of the vortex chamber
and the inlet nozzle are very important, and he mentioned that the inlet nozzle should
have an Archimedean spiral shape and its cross section should be slotted. A single
rectangular nozzle was used by Leites et al. on their large industrial vortex tube. Saidi
and Valipour conducted experimental investigations using vortex tubes with three and
four nozzles. The results showed the nozzle with three intakes presents better
performance than four intakes nozzle from the point of view of refrigeration
efficiency. Promvonge and Eiamsa-ard experimentally studied the energy and
temperature separations in the vortex tube with a snail entrance. In their experimental
results, the use of snail entrance could help to increase the cold air temperature drop
and to improve the vortex tube efficiency in comparison with those of original
tangential inlet nozzles. In another investigation Promvonge and Eiamsa-ard
concluded that the increase of the number of inlet nozzles led to higher temperature
separation in the vortex tube. Behera et al. suggest that optimum nozzle profile and
number can be determined by using CFD analysis. They used five different nozzle
configurations in a vortex tube of 12 mm diameter: two numbers of convergent
nozzles, single helical circular nozzle, single helical rectangular nozzle, straight six
numbers of nozzles, and convergent six numbers of nozzles. The performance of the
nozzles has been characterized by the magnitude of swirl velocity and radial
symmetry of flow [9].

14

Fig 1.12 Conventional Nozzle

Fig 1.13 Nozzle of Archimedes

1.5 Advantages
Vortex tubes have advantages compared to other refrigerating or heating devices,
being simple, having no moving parts, using no electricity or chemicals and having
long operation time. They need only compressed gas to operate. Their critical
disadvantage is their low thermal efficiency.

15

Maintenance free (no moving parts)

Cools without costly electricity or refrigerants

Reliable, compact ad lightweight

Low cost application

Made up of durable materials like stainless steel, brass, aluminium, etc.

Adjustable temperature

Instant Cold air

1.6 Limitations
- Low COP
- Limited capacity
- Only small portion of compressed air appearing as cold air
The use of vortex tube is convenient where a supply of compressed air is
available, to obtain rapidly and momentarily a fall in temperature. Its applications are
still relatively limited to laboratory trials, to control of temperature of small electronic
boxes, to aviation or to obtain a rapid fall in temperature of certain manufactures, such
as chocolate, waxes, cooling machining operations, deep mine air conditioning, etc.
The use of vortex cooling may often prove to be a better proposition than the more
efficient conventional vapour compression systems when any of the requirements
apply:
1. Light weight, portability
2. Low capacity or localized cooling or freezing
3. No moving parts high reliability
4. May be used where electricity is not available or prohibited on safety
grounds
5. Low initial cost
6. Instantaneous operation
7. No expert attendant required

16

Advantages of vortex tube test rig :

1). It is a very simple refrigeration equipment to produce a refrigeration effect with no
moving parts.
2).As it is of small weight and size, it is easy for the operator to carry it from place to
place in the workplace.
3). Unskilled worker can work on this test rig.
4).No refrigerant is required.
5). As there is no water present in the working of the test rig, there is no water leakage
which we can see in some refrigerant equipment.
6). It is easy to handle the air during process.
7). It is the cheapest refrigeration equipment as compared to others.

Limitations of the vortex tube test rig:

1) There should be a compressor present at the vicinity of the test rig.
2) The inlet pressure of the vortex tube should be maintained at a specific range, so
that there would not be a deviation in the temperature.
3) There can be a drop in the pressure of the air at the distributor.
4) The refrigeration cannot be produced for a very long time, as this can lead to ice
formation in the inner part of the vortex tube.

17

Precautions :
1) The operator should work away from the compressor, as it can cause accidents
when a person comes in contact with it.
2) For this vortex tube the operating pressure should be less than 7 bars(100lpm), and
if it exceeds the given value it can be fatal to the equipments.
3) While transporting the test rig from places to places it should be done with care as
there are equipments on the test rig which are very delicate.

1.7 Applications of Vortex Tube Refrigeration

1. Cooling of recompression chamber atmospheres
NOAA experimental diving report included data which demonstrates that vortex tubes
function effectively under hyperbaric conditions, and suggested that they are of
potential use in hyperbaric environmental control, diving, and support systems and
activities. The vortex apparatus was adjusted to a cold air temperature of -4.40C and a
hot air temperature of 450C. Ambient temperature was maintained at 250C.

Fig 1.14 Recompression Chamber

18

2. Industrial Spot Cooling Operations

Vortex Tubes have a very wide range of applications for industrial spot cooling on
machines, assembly lines and processes. [16]
1) Cool machining operations
2) Set solders and adhesives
3) Cool plastic injection moulds
4) Dry ink on labels and bottles
5) Dehumidify gas samples
6) Cool heat seal operations
7) Thermal test sensors and choke units
8) Cool cutter blades
9) Temperature cycle parts

Fig 1.15 Cooling Blow Moulded Fuel Tanks

19

The above fig, 1.15, shows the application of the Vortex Tube to cool down the hot
moulded tank. As, these fuel tank contains hot fluids which makes there surface hot,
hence to cool down the fuel tank, the cold air from the Vortex Tube is used

Fig 1.16 Cooling an Ultrasonic Weld

The above fig, 1.16, shows the application of the Vortex Tube to cool down the
Ultrasonic Weld on the surface of material. If the no. of material are more then, these
material are lined up on conveyor belt and cooling is done by the vortex Tube on each
and every material as shown above.
3. Application of Vortex Tube to Refrigeration Cycles
The relative inefficiency of the vortex tube as a stand-alone cooling device has thus
far limited its use. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the vortex tube as a
refrigerator, cooling provided per work required to compress the fluid, is very low
(less than 0.1 near room temperature) relative to a domestic refrigeration cycle.
However, its simplicity makes it an extremely compact, reliable, affordable, and
flexible alternative in some special applications. A more exciting and potentially
much broader use for the vortex tube exists if it can be integrated into a refrigeration

20

system as an alternative to the conventional throttling valve in order to accomplish the

required expansion process in a less irreversible manner [15].

Vapour compression cycle

Figure illustrates a conventional vapour compression refrigeration cycle with a
throttling valve and Figure illustrates the corresponding ideal thermodynamic cycle
using a typical synthetic refrigerant, R134a. The process of expanding the two-phase
fluid through the valve, from state 3 to state 4, follows a line of constant enthalpy. In
the situation where the valve is replaced by a vortex tube, the corresponding
expansion for the fluid extracted from the cold side of the tube would be limited to an
isentropic process, for reasons described earlier. The limiting exit states would
therefore be 4c.

Joule-Thompson Cycle.

Fig 1.17 Joule-Thomson Refrigeration Cycle

Joule-Thomson (JT) cryogenic refrigerators rely on expansion through a throttling
valve yet do not necessarily operate in the vapour dome. These refrigeration devices

21

are used in low cost applications or in situations where reliability is of paramount

importance such as tactical cryocoolers for infrared detectors, refrigeration for
electronics, cryotherapy probes, and cryocoolers for space-borne detectors. The vortex
tube produces a large temperature drop in the cold exit fluid regardless of the JouleThomson coefficient.

Fig 1.18 Vortex Tube Refrigeration Cycle

4. Miscellaneous
Keeping Camera Lens Clear and Cool: An industry in Asia had multiple Boroscope
lenses that needed to be kept cool and clear while being inserted into an 1150
Fahrenheit boiler porthole.
Speeding up Cycle Time: A manufacturer in Mexico produces moulded plastic pedals
for bicycles and needed help in finding a solution to cool their moulded parts down so
they could increase cycle times. [14]

22

Cooling a garage door Seal: Before exterior garage door seals can be coated with a
colour that will match the garage door and its trim, the initial extrusion must be cool.
A vortex Tube can speed this cooling process up.
Chilling a Mandrel for Jewellery Crafting: A ring mandrel is easily one of the most
useful tools for sizing, crafting and re-shaping jewellery. Each of these mandrels is
designed for one or more special applications in jewellery crafting. By blowing
chilled air, with a vortex Tube onto the mandrel, thermal expansion of the mandrel
was eliminated even as temperatures rose throughout the day.
Cooling Copper Wire on Heat Set Tubing: There are many types of Heat Set Tubing
in the market today. All the different sizes, lengths, diameters, wall thickness, etc. can
cause trouble.

23

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
From 1934, almost 200-215 articles are published on Ranque Hilsch vortex tube. Not
all the articles are directly related to our work, especially, those articles which were
focused on computational work. Many articles addressed experimental findings and
remaining discussed various theories explaining energy separation phenomenon. In
this subsection, we are going to discuss only those articles (experimental and/or
theoretical work) which are directly related to current work.

2.1 Experimental Research on Vortex Tube

In the past, many researchers tried to study energy separation phenomenon and the
resulting enrichment of the inlet gas inside the vortex tube. Most of the researchers
conducted experiments to study the effect of the following parameters on the energy
separation characteristics of the vortex tube:
Thermo-physical parameters (like the fluid, inlet pressure, temperature, etc.) and the
geometry (like number of nozzles, diameter, length, etc.)

[2]

Table 2.1 Summary of Experimental Studies on Vortex Tubes [1]

Year

Investigator

Dia.

Pi

mm

(bar)

Th - Ti

Tc - Ti

1933

Ranque

12

38

-32

1947

Hilsch

4.6

11

140

-53

0.23

1950

Webster

8.7

1951

Scheper

38.1

3.9

-11.7

0.26

1956

Hartnell and

76.2

2.4

3.5

-40

-65

Eckert
1956

Martynovski

4.4/28 12

and Alekseev

24

1957

Scheller and

25.4

6.1

15.6

-23

0.506

Brown
1958

Otten

20

08

40

-50

0.43

1959

Lay

50.8

1.68

9.4

-15.5

1960

Suzuki

16

54

-30

1962

Sibulkin

44.5

1962

Reynolds

76.2

1962

Blatt and

38.1

-99

Trusch
1965

Takahama

28/78

1966

Takahama and

28/78

Soga
1968

Vennos

41.3

5.76

-1

-13

0.35

1969

Brunn

94

-20

0.23

1973

Soni

6.4/32 1.5/3

1982

Sclenz

50.8

3.36

1983

Stefan et al.

17.6

78

-38

0.3

1983

Amitani et al.

800

3.06

15

-19

0.4

1988

Negm et al.

11/20

30

-42

0.38

1994

Ahlborn et al.

18

40

-30

1996

Ahlborn et al.

25.4

2,7

30

-27

0.4

2001

Guillaume and

9,5

-17.37

0.4

-43

0.6

16

3.5

33

0.33

16

3.5

25

-30

0.38

19

1.2

-11

0.1

Jolly III
2003

Saidi and
Valipour

2004

Promvongue
and Eiamsa

2005

Promvongue
and Eiamsa

2005

Aljuwayhel et
al.

25

Table 2.2 Summary of Numerical Studies on Vortex Tube [1]

Investigators

Flow

Model

considered

Method or

Results

software used

compared with
measurements

Linderstrom-

Incompressible

Zero-equation

Stream-function

Lang

Poor but just

trend

(1971)
Schlenz (1982)

2D

Zero-equation

Compressible

Galerkins

Poor but

technique

qualitative
Trend

Amitani et al.

2D

(1983)

Compressible

Neglected

Finite difference Fair but

assumptions in
Doubt

Borissov et al.

Incompressible

-------

(1993)

Velocity field

Qualitative

induced by

agreement

helical vortex
Guston and

2D

Bakken

Compressible

k model

FLUENTTM

Fairly good

code

(1999)
Frohlingsdorf

2D

and

Compressible

k model

CFX code

Fairly good

Finite volume

Good

Star-CD code

Fairly good

Fairly good

Unger (1999)
Promvonge

2D

ASM and

(1999)

Compressible

k
model

Behera et al.

3D

k and RNG

(2005)

Compressible

k
models

Aljuwayhel et

2D

k and RNG

FLUENTTM

al.

Compressible

code

26

(2005)

models

Skye et al.

2D

k and RNG

FLUENTTM

(2006)

Compressible

code

Fairly good

models
Eiamsa-ard and

2D

ASM and

Promvonge

Compressible

(2006)

Finite volume

Good

model

2.1.1 Thermo-Physical Parameters

It was very important to conduct experiments with different working mediums to
determine the effect of compressibility on the energy separation. The first study on the
separation of mixtures with the Ranque Hilsch vortex tube was published in 1967 by
Linderstrom-Lang and in 1977 by Marshall. The gas mixtures (oxygen and nitrogen,
carbon dioxide and helium, carbon dioxide and air, and other mixtures) were used as
the working medium in their work. In 2001 the vortex tube system was used for
carbon-dioxide separation by K. T. Raterman. In 2002 the Ranque Hilsch vortex tube
system was used to enrich the concentration of methane by Manohar. In 2004, natural
gas was used as working medium and with the vortex tube natural gas was liquefied
by Poshernev. [3]
In 1979 steam was used as working medium by Takahama. In 1979, two-phase
propane was used as the working medium by Collins. It was found that when the
degree of dryness (defined as the ratio of the mass of gaseous part over the total mass)
of the liquid and gaseous propane is higher than 0.80, a significant temperature
difference is maintained. With two-phase working medium, the degree of dryness is
an important parameter, when the degree of dryness is larger than some critical value,
energy separation occurs. [4]
In 1988, Balmer

[5]

used liquid water as the working medium. It was found that

when the inlet pressure is high, for instance 20 to 50 bars, then and then we get the
energy separation. So it proves that for the energy separation process, compressibility

27

is vital. Experimental results obtained by varying thermo-physical parameters can be

summarized as follows:
The working media is very important in the operation of the vortex tube system.
By selecting different working media, the performance of the system can be
optimized, and
The vortex tube can be used for utilizing waste pressure energy even if the pressure
energy is in the form of non-condensed gases, inert gases or liquid vapours.

2.1.2 Geometrical Parameters

Geometrical parameters include the positioning of components like the cold exhaust,
control valves and inlet nozzles. Depending upon the position of cold exhaust, we can
call vortex tube as counter flow or uniflow vortex tube.
From the experimental investigation, it was found that the performance of the uniflow vortex tube is inferior to that of the counter-flow vortex tube. So, most of the
time, the counter-flow geometry was chosen.
The literature concerning the design, operation and performance of vortex tubes is
extensive, with descriptions first appearing in 1948 (Hilsch) with excellent review
papers by H. Takahama (1965) , Boye Ahlborn, Stuart Groves (1997) , and C. M. Gao
et. al. (2005). Studies focusing on the role of internal geometry include: Takahama
(1960), Hartnet and Eckert (1976), J. Marshall (1977), M. H. Saidi (2003) and
Eiamsa-ard, S. et.al. (2007) [6].
During 1960s, Takahama carried out experimental studies on pressure and
temperatures inside the vortex tube and studied the effect of various geometric factors
on its energy separation characteristics. In 1977, J. Marshall confirmed
experimentally that separation is primarily dependent upon centrifugation. His results
appear substantially to indicate in comparing the standard and large tubes that the gas
separation performance is the same if the effect of overall pressure drop is considered.
In 2003, M. H. Saidi

[7]

found that generator with more flow intakes causes the cold

air temperature and the efficiency of the vortex tube to decrease.

28

Finally, of importance to the work discussed here, several researchers have sought
to characterize the internal flow details including the existence of a secondary flow
circulation. Specifically, in 1997, Ahlborn and Groves [8] used a pitot tube to observe
a secondary flow within the vortex tube. From the measured velocity field they
determined that the return flow at the center of the tube is much larger than the cold
mass flow emerging out of the cold end. Therefore, the vortex tube must have a
secondary circulation imbedded into the primary vortex, which moves fluid from the
back flow core to the outer regions.

2.2 Theoretical Research on Vortex Tube

Theoretical studies have been carried out in parallel with experiments. Most theories
are based on results obtained from the related experimental work; some are based on
numerical simulations. In 1997 Gutsol and in 2002 Leontev have published detailed
reviews about the Ranque Hilsch vortex tube theories.

2.2.1 Adiabatic Compression and Adiabatic Expansion Model

The first explanation was given by Ranque. He hypothesized that the energy
separation is due to adiabatic expansion in the central region and adiabatic
compression in the peripheral region. In 1947 Hilsch used similar ideas to explain the
phenomenon in the vortex tube, but introduced the internal friction between the
peripheral and internal gas layers. He used this model to explain his experimental
results rather well. Because the process in the vortex tube is not truly adiabatic, this
model was later rejected.

2.2.2 Effect of Friction and Turbulence

In 1950, Fulton

[9]

hypothesized that the energy separation is due to the free and

forced vortex flow generated inside the system. He stated that Fresh gas before it has
travelled far in the tube succeeds in forming an almost free vortex in which the
angular velocity or rpm is low at the periphery and very high toward the center. But

29

friction between the layers of gas undertakes to reduce all the gas to the same angular
velocity, as in a solid body. During the internal friction process between the
peripheral and central layers, the outer gas in turn gains more kinetic energy than it
loses internal energy and this leads to a higher gas temperature in the periphery; the
inner gas loses kinetic energy and so the gas temperature is lower.
Lay used the potential and forced vortex motion for the vortex tube analysis and
proposed via an elegant mathematical formalization that the internal friction effect
and turbulence are the main reason for the energy separation. Kreith , Alimov also
attributed the friction effect as reason for the energy separation. Reynolds, Deissler
also pointed out that the energy separation is due to friction and turbulence. Van
Deemter in 1951 performed numerical simulation work based on the extended
Bernoulli equation. He had similar ideas as Fulton

[9]

and calculated the temperature

profile as scaled by the turbulent Prandtl number. There is a remarkable agreement

between his model and Hilschs measurements.
Deissler, Reynolds, and Lewellen all presented mathematical analysis based on the
turbulent Nevior Stokes (N-S) equation. Based on their analysis, they came to the
common conclusion that heat transfer between flow layers by temperature gradients
and by pressure gradients due to turbulent mixing, turbulent shear work done on
elements are the main reasons for the energy separation. The work concluded that the
energy separation is mainly due to internal friction and turbulence characterized by
the turbulent viscosity number. [10]
2.2.3 Acoustic Streaming Model
Kurosaka, Chu and Kuroda from the University of Tennessee explained the VT with
the phenomenon of acoustic streaming. They focused their research on the
fundamental functions of ordered/disordered turbulence and found a relationship
between the acoustic resonance frequencies and the forced vortex motion frequency.
They proposed that the energy separation inside the vortex tube is due to the damping
of the acoustic streaming along the axis of the tube towards the hot exhaust. In 2005,
the frequencies found from the spectral analysis on the samples taken by the hot-wire
anemometry also have relationships and indicate the existence of the acoustic
phenomena. [11]

30

2.2.4 Secondary Circulation Model

Ahlborn proposed a secondary circulation model based on his experimental results.
He found that the cumulative mass flow over the cross section of the vortex tube in
the cold end direction is larger than the cold exhaust flow, which implies the existence
of a secondary circulation flow in the VT. With this secondary circulation model, the
vortex tube can be considered as a classical refrigeration device and the secondary
circulation flow can be thought as a classical cycle. [8]

Table 2.3 Lengths and Diameters of Vortex Tube Used by Other Researchers [2]
Sr. No.

Author

Tatsuo Amitani

Year

1983

(inner L (Length) Fluid

Dia.) ft.

ft.

2.62

21.65

Blast
furnace
exhaust gas

Tatsuo Amitani

1983

0.51

7.38

Blast
furnace
exhaust gas
and air

H. Takahama

1965

0.26

5.2

air

H. Takahama

1979

0.06

3.42

Air

M. Sibulkin

1961

0.13

3.0

Air

H.Takahama

1980

0.18

2.0

Air

H. Bruun

1969

0.31

1.73

Air

K. Stephan

1983

0.06

1.17

Air

M. Saidi

2003

0.06

0.93

Air

10

Exair Corp.

0.08

0.83

31

CHAPTER 3
DESIGN OF VORTEX TUBE
Literature review reveals that there is no theory so perfect, which gives the
satisfactory explanation of the vortex tube phenomenon as explained by various
researches. There it was thought to carry out experimental investigations to
understand the heat transfer characteristics in the vortex tube with respect to various
parameters like mass flow rates of cold and hot air, nozzle area of inlet compressed
air, cold orifice area, hot end area of the tube, and L/D T ratio. The experimental
investigations were carried out based upon two designing methods.
1. Maximum temperature drop tube design
2. Maximum cooling effect tube design
It is observed that the effect of nozzle design is more important than the cold orifice
design in getting higher temperature drops. Cold fractions as well as adiabatic
efficiency are more influenced by the size of the cold orifice rather than the size of the
nozzle. Higher temperature drops are obtained in vortex tube made of maximum
temperature drop tube design, whereas, more cold fraction and higher adiabatic
efficiency are obtained with maximum cooling effect tube design. Before explaining
the design of vortex tube, the important equations that are critical for design
consideration are discussed below:

3.1 Important Equations:

3.1.1 Cold Mass Fraction
The cold flow mass ratio or cold mass fraction is the most important parameter
indicating the vortex tube performance and the temperature/energy separation inside
the RHVT. The performance of the RHVTs is evaluated based on the cold fraction.
The cold mass fraction is the percentage of input compressed air that is released
through the cold end of the tube. It is the mass flow rate of cold gas divided by mass
flow rate of the inlet gas

32

c =
Where Mc represents the mass flow rate of the cold stream released, Mi in represents
the inlet or total mass flow rate of the pressurized inlet working fluid.

3.1.2 Cold and Hot Temperature Difference

Cold temperature difference or temperature reduction is defined as the difference in
temperature between inlet flow temperature and cold flow temperature:

=
where

is the inlet flow temperature and

is the cold flow temperature. Similarly

hot temperature difference is defined as

= h

3.1.3 Normalised Temperature Drop/Rise

Normalised cold temperature drop is defined as the ratio of cold temperature
difference to inlet temperature:

Similarly normalised hot temperature rise is defined as:

33

3.1.4 Cold Orifice Diameter

Cold orifice diameter ratio ( ) is defined as the ratio of cold orifice diameter ( c) to
vortex tube diameter ( ):

3.1.5 Isentropic Efficiency

Assuming the process inside RHVT as isentropic expansion, isentropic efficiency [12]
is:

where

is enthalpy at the inlet to vortex tube, cold exhaust enthalpy, and

enthalpy after isentropic processes. For an ideal gas

.............................. (1)

For an isentropic expansion, the exhaust temperature is

.................................... (2)

Substituting Eqn. (2) in Eqn. (1) gives

Where

= isentropic efficiency

34

= inlet air pressure

= atmospheric pressure
and
= specific heat ratio

3.1.6 Coefficient of Performance

To find the coefficient of performance (COP) defined as a ratio of cooling rate to
energy used in cooling, the same principle of isentropic expansion of ideal gas is
employed and the equation becomes:

Where,
Qc = cooling rate per unit of air in the inlet vortex tube
w = mechanical energy used in cooling per unit of air inlet.
Effect of Cold Orifice Diameter On performance of Vortex Tube
The different orifice diameter used for experimentation shown in Fig.

Fig. 3.1 Different Orifice Diameters

35

Energy separation efficiency is plotted against the cold fraction for various cold end
orifice diameters [dr = (dc/D) = 0.18 to 0.66] at inlet mass flow rate of 0.45 kg/min in
Fig.
It was observed from the Fig. that for cold fraction 60%, the effect of cold end
orifice diameter is negligible and above 60% cold fraction it becomes prominent. The
results also show that the maximum value of performance factor was always
reachable at a 60% cold fraction irrespective of the orifice diameter and the inlet
pressure.

Effect of orifice diameter on energy flux separation efficiency

The dependence of energy flux separation efficiency of the vortex tube on the cold
fraction with the orifice diameter at the inlet mass flow rate of 0.45 kg/min is shown
in Fig. As discussed earlier, the effect of inlet mass flow rate is washed out because of
its presence in the cold fraction.
The results are showing that below 60% cold fraction the energy fluxes are varying
almost linearly and the effect of orifice diameter is very insignificant. Beyond 60%
cold fraction, the effect of orifice diameter is dominant. Firstly, energy flux separation
efficiency is dropping with an increase in cold fraction and secondly for constant cold
fraction it is increasing with orifice diameter. Hence, it can be concluded that while
operating the vortex tube for cold fraction above 60%, selecting larger orifice
diameter will give better energy flux separation efficiency.
K. Dincer et al. studied the effects of diameter (5, 6, 7, 8 mm) and angle (30180)
of a hot end valve, located at the hot outlet side in a RanqueHilsch Vortex Tube
(RHVT), were determined experimentally for best performance. From the presented
results, it can be seen that the most efficient (maximum T) combination of
parameters is obtained for a plug diameter of 5 mm, tip angle of 30 or 60, by
keeping the plug at position L, and letting the air enter into the vortex tube through 4
nozzles. Increasing the inlet pressure beyond 380 kPa did not bring any appreciable
improvement in the performance.

36

Effect of Number of Nozzles on Performance of Vortex Tube

Dincer et al. used the experimental setup. Dincer et al. conducted experiment by using
different number of nozzles.
Number of nozzles used in the experiment and their arrangement are shown Fig 3.2

(a) 2 nozzle

(b) 4 nozzle

(c) 6 nozzle

Fig. 3.2 Number of Nozzles

The effect of 2, 4, and 6 nozzles on the performance of the vortex tube at various
operating pressure was shown in Fig 3.2. An increase in the pressure at the entrance
of the vortex tube results in an increase in the performance of the vortex tube with 2,
4, 6 nozzles. The best performance is obtained with the vortex tube which has 4
nozzles [18].

Effect of Hot End Valve Angle on Performance of Vortex Tube

The effects of angle at the tip of the plug for 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 on the
performance of the vortex tube. When the experimental data are assessed, it is found
that the biggest T values are observed with the plug which has a tip angle of 30 or
60. [18]

37

Effect of Inlet Air Pressure on Performance of Vortex Tube

The variation in the temperature difference with different values of inlet air pressure
and cold air mass fraction happens. The pressure at the entrance of the vortex tube
was increased from 200 kPa to 420 kPa by increments of 20 kPa. Hence effect of the
inlet pressure of the vortex tube on the tubes performance was experimentally
studied. The T constantly increases from 200 kPa to 380 kPa, but the increase is less
significant between 380 kPa and 420 kPa for the geometry and dimensions of the
vortex tube employed [18].

3.2 Design of Vortex Tube

In the present study, out of these two design considerations (maximum temperature
drop tube design and maximum cooling effect tube design) first has been used. In the
present investigation, a nozzle area to tube area ratio of 0.11+0.01 for maximum
temperature drop and a ratio of 0.084+0.001 for achieving maximum efficiency has
been considered, as suggested by Soni and Thomson

[13]

. Further, they suggested that

the ratio of cold orifice area to tube area should be 0.08+0.001 for achieving
maximum temperature drop and it will be 0.145+0.035 for attaining maximum
efficiency.

3.2.1 Maximum Temperature Drop Tube Design:

As per Soni and Thomsons Correlations [13]

3.2.1.1 Nozzle Diameter

= 0.110.01
Where AN & AT are the cross sectional area of nozzle and vortex tube respectively.
Considering the diameter of the Vortex tube DT = 10mm;

38

AT

102

= 78.5 mm2
= 0.11 0.01(i.e. 0.12 or 0.10)

Therefore AN = 9.42 or 7.85

Therefore

DN2 = 9.42
DN2 = 12
DN = 3.464 mm
OR
DN2 = 7.85
DN2 = 10
DN = 3.16 mm

Finally the Nozzle diameter was selected as DN = 3.2mm.

3.2.1.2 Cold Orifice Diameter

= 0.08 0.001
Where Ac is the cross sectional area of the cold orifice.
AT =

102

39

= 78.5 mm2

= 0.08 0.001 (i.e. 0.081 or 0.079)

Therefore AC = 6.3585 or 6.2015
Therefore

DC2 = 6.3585
DC2 = 8.095
DC = 2.8453 mm
OR
DC2 = 6.2015
DC2 = 7.8959
DC = 2.80 mm

Finally Cold orifice diameter was selected as 3 mm

3.2.1.3 Length of Tube
According to Saidi and Valipour [7]
= 22

Therefore L = 22 10
L = 220 mm

40

3.2.2 Maximum Temperature Drop Tube Design:

Now we consider the dia. =8 mm from optimum design consideration
3.2.2.1 Nozzle Diameter
= 0.110.01
Where AN & AT are the cross sectional area of nozzle and vortex tube respectively.
Considering the diameter of the Vortex tube DT = 8mm;
AT

82

= 50.26 mm2
= 0.11 0.01(i.e. 0.12 or 0.10)

Therefore AN = 6.031 or 5.026

Therefore

DN2 = 6.031
DN2 = 7.68
DN = 2.77 mm
OR
DN2 = 5.026
DN2 = 6.34
DN = 2.53 mm

Finally the Nozzle diameter was selected as DN = 2.6 mm.

41

3.2.2.2 Cold Orifice Diameter

= 0.08 0.001

Where Ac is the cross sectional area of the cold orifice.

AT =

82

= 50.26 mm2
= 0.08 0.001 (i.e. 0.081 or 0.079)
Therefore AC = 4.067 or 3.97
Therefore

DC2 = 4.067
DC2 = 5.18
DC = 2.27 mm
OR
DC2 = 3.97
DC2 = 5.05
DC = 2.25 mm

Finally Cold orifice diameter was selected as 2.25 mm

3.2.2.3 Length of Tube : According to Saidi and Valipour [7]
= 22
Therefore L = 22 8
L = 176 mm

42

Table 3.1 Geometrical Parameters of Vortex Tube

Parameter

Value

Value

Tube Diameter, D

10 mm

8 mm

Tube Length, L

220 mm

176 mm

Diameter of cold orifice

3 mm

2.6 mm

Diameter of Nozzle

3.2 mm

2.25 mm

By Optimum design principle, the vortex tube with 8 mm diameter has been selected.

Table 3.2 Thermo-physical Properties of Working Medium

Working medium

Air

Specific Heat

1006.43 J/kg-K

Thermal Conductivity

0.0242 W/m-K

Inlet pressure of air

2-6bar

Highlights of The Project Work

1. Fabrication of experimental setup.
2. Vortex tube design.
3. A vortex tube out of brass with changeable parts is to be manufacture.
4. Conduction of experiment on vortex tube without any modifications.
5. The effect of geometry parameters such as nozzle intakes number, diameter of
cold orifice and hot end valve angle on the vortex tube performance is
investigated.
6. The effect of operational parameter such as inlet pressure and cold air fraction on
the VT performance is investigated.

43

SETUP
Proposed Work:
The experimental setup for present work is as shown in Fig. 3.3. Manly it consist
vortex tube,

compressor,

pressure

regulator,

rotameters,

thermocouples.

Fig 3.3 Vortex Tube Test Rig

44

pressure

gauges,

CHAPTER 4
COST ESTIMATION
Table 4.1 Expenditure for the project
Sr.

Instrument

Specifications/Range Qty. Cost/Unit

Cost

No.
1

Compressor

FRL Unit

0-10bar

1000/-

1000/-

Pressure Gauge

0-8bar (1/4)

150/-

150/-

Temperature

-550C to 1000C

250/-

750/-

-500C to 2000C

1500/-

1500/

200/-

600/-

1500/-

3000/-

Indicator(faulty)
5

Temperature
indicator

thermocouple

1m length, 3mm dia. 3

Probe

Rotameter

0-200 lpm

fabrication

2000/-

2000/-

Other

2000/-

2000/-

Total cost

11000/-

45

4.1 Details of Material Purchased and their Cost:

1) Compressor (1 piece): The compressor has been provided to us by our college.
The name of the compressor is Sonee air compressor which has been manufactured in
Rajkot, Gujrat. It has been manufactured by Krunal Agro Industries. The working
pressure is 5.7 bar and designed pressure is 13.5 bar
2) F.R.L. Unit (1 piece): We have purchased FRL unit (1/4 inch. Pressure range 0 to
10 bar) from Mohammedi Engineering Company Pvt. Ltd. situated at Pune at the
cost of Rs. 1000. The cost of the same piece at Saif Hydraullics, Nana peth, Pune and
M.S. Sankrantpurwala, , Pune was Rs 1700 and Rs 1500 respectively.
3) Pressure gauge (1piece): We have purchased pressure guage (1/4 inch, Pressure
range 2 to 8 bars) from Mohammedi Engineering Company Pvt. Ltd. situated at Nana
Peth, Pune at the cost of Rs. 150. The cost of the same piece at Saif Hydraullics, Nana
peth, Pune and M.S. Sankrantpurwala, , Pune was Rs. 180.
4) Temperature Indicator faulty (3 pieces): We have purchased temperature
indicator which senses temperature of one point at a time. The name and model
number of this item is Maxtech PT-1000 (Range -55

to 100 ). The cost of this

temperature indicator is Rs 250 per piece. We have purchased this product from Excel
Enterprises..
5) Temperature Indicator (1 piece) : We have purchased Digital 12 channel
Temperature Indicator (Range -50

to 200 C) from Sensography Company Pvt. Ltd

located at Bhosari, Pune at the cost of Rs 1600. The cost of this item was Rs 1900 at
M.S. Sankrantpurwala.
6) Thermocouple (3 pieces) : We have purchased temperature sensors (K type
thermocouple) from Sensography Company Pvt. Ltd located at Bhosari, Pune at the
cost of Rs 200 per piece. The length of the wire is 1 meter. The diameter of the probe
is 3mm. The cost of this item was Rs 200 per piece at M.S. Sankrantpurwala, Pune.
7) Rotameter (2 pieces): We have ordered Rotameter (Range 0-200 lpm) from
Mehta Enterprises located at Mahim East, Mumbai. The cost of the rotameter is Rs
1500 per piece. The cost of rotameter in Pune was Rs 2400 per piece.

46

8) Fabrication : We have constructed a box (suitcase type) for our test rig so that it
provides a outer covering for the test rig and also can it be easy to carry from place to
place. The material which has been used to construct the is plywood. We had two
options to construct the box viz. Metal box and wooden box. The fabrication cost of
the metal was about Rs 5000 and the weight of the box would have been too high to
carry. Hence we decided to go with wooden box. The cost of the wooden box went to
Rs 2000 and also it was lighter as compared to the metal box.
9) Other: There are many other items which we have purchased for the projects.
These items are Distributer (1 piece) to distribute the inlet air to the vortex tube,
nozzles (4 pieces) for the vortex tube, Pneumatic pipes (6 meter), Male and Female
part of the compressor, clips for joining the pipes (8 piece), Aluminium rod (55 cm
and 3 cm diameter). The total cost of all these items went around Rs 2000. We have
purchased these items from T.K. Enterprises and M.S. Sankrantpurwala Pune.
Hence, after purchasing all these items mentioned above, the overall cost of the
project is Rs 11000. By using proper purchasing skills we saved approximately Rs
3500 to 4000. Because of the faulty temperature indicators we have to face a loss of
Rs 750 which is minimal.

47

CHAPTER 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Table 5.1 Observations of Vortex Tube Test Rig

Sr. No.

Pressure

Inlet

Cold Air

Hot Air

Temperature Temperature Temperature

P (bar)

Ti (0C)

Tc (0C)

Th(0C)

24

19

25

24

17

26

24

16

27.5

24

13

27

24

10

28

24

30

Image 5.1 Vortex Tube Test Rig

48

After taking various reading, a graph of Pressure vs. Temperature has been plotted.
Temperature for cold and hot air are plotted on y axis and inlet pressure is plotted on
x axis. It can be seen from Fig 5.1 that an increase in inlet pressure leads to decrease
in temperature of air obtained from cold end while an increase is observed in
temperature obtained from hot end.

Pressure VS. Temperature

35

30

Temperature (C)

25

20
Cold Air
15

Hot Air

10

0
1

Pressure ( Bar)

Fig. 5.1 Graph of Temperature Vs. Pressure for Cold air and Hot Air

49

The various parameters were observed while carrying out experiment on the test rig
which are as follows:
1). Compressor pressure: The compressor took approximately 10 minutes to build
the pressure as per the need. The working pressure of the compressor is 7 bar. There
were some leakage in the compressor which are been neglected. The pressurized air is
send to the F.R.L. unit of the test rig.
2). F.R.L. unit: The air coming from the compressed is passed through the Filter
Regulator & Lubricator (FRL) unit. Here, the moisture present in the compressed air
is been removed from this unit. The pressure of the compressed air can be regulated
using the pressure regulator present in the FRL unit.
3). Vortex Tube: The compressed air is then passed to the vortex tube. Firstly, the
air is been passed through the distributer so that air can be passed through multiple
nozzle present on the tube. The air is tangentially passed in the vortex tube. Hence,
the working of the vortex tube started.
5). Cold air: When the compressed air is passed through the nozzles which enters
tangentially in the vortex tube, the working of the vortex tube starts. We observed
cold air coming out from the front end of vortex tube where the orifice is been
located. As the pressure was increased of compressed air, there was a decrease in the
temperature of the air coming out of the tube. But for the pressure of 7 bars there was
a fluctuation in the reading on the temperature indicator because there was slow
decrease in the pressure of the of the compressed air and hence there was increase in
the temperature. But for the reading for the pressure up to 4 bars, there were no
fluctuation in the reading on the temperature indicator.
6).Hot air: After observing cold air from the front end, we also observed hot air
coming out from the rear end of the vortex. Hence, it shows that vortex tube can
create both cold and hot air simultaneously. The temperature of this hot air is been
recorded in the temperature indicator.
7). Temperature indicator: The temperature of both cold and hot air is been
recorded by using a k type thermocouple, temperature indicator. There were three
thermocouple which were been used. The temperature errors havent been considered

50

in this experiment. As the temperature indicator has been calibrated by the producer,
hence there wont be error of a very large margin.
8). Portable Test Rig: The test rig is been mounted in a suitcase, due to which it is
easy to carry the test rig from place to place. Less human efforts are required to carry
the suitcase as the weight of the test rig is suitable of a common man to carry it.

51

CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION

Vortex tube is a device without moving mechanical parts, which converts a gas
flow initially homogeneous in temperature, into two separate flows of differing
temperatures. Since its discovery in 1930 by Ranque, the vortex tube has been the
subject of considerable interest both from the theoretical and practical application
standpoints. However, it is difficult to design a vortex tube with definite integral
characteristics for a concrete application because the available experimental data are
not clearly understood and there are no entirely correct generalizations. The purpose
of this article is to overview of the past investigations of the design criteria of vortex
tubes, to draw together the mass of literature, and to provide detailed information on
the design of vortex tubes. Thus it will be possible to access the results of available
experimental/theoretical investigations on vortex tubes. It will be possible also to
make generalization about design of vortex tubes. First the classification of vortex
tubes is presented and the types of vortex tubes are described. Then all criteria on the
design of vortex tubes are given in detail using experimental and theoretical results
from the past until now. Finally the criteria on the design of vortex tubes are
summarized. Important common findings deduced from the literature survey are
tabulated and summarized in tables.
The following parameters can be concluded after workings on the test rig of the
vortex tube are as follows:
1. It is clear that the inlet pressure is the necessary driving force for the energy
separation.
2. It is also shown that the cold fraction is an important parameter influencing the
performance of the energy separation in the vortex tube.
3. The temperature of the cold air decreases with increase in the pressure of the inlet
air to the vortex tube.
4. Vortex tube is capable to produce both cold and hot air.

52

CHAPTER 7
FUTURE SCOPE

7.1 FURTHER RESEARCH

(A) COMPRESSED AIR
The ability to create compressed air in a rural setting needs more attention to
increase the viability of the system. As compressed air has the benefit that it is in
itself storage of energy. The basic project objectives can be met with the traditional
commercial products. It is our intention that if this application of technologies is
economically viable then the innovative spirit will help local communities to better
the product for financial gain.
(B) CREATING CLEAN WATER
An additional benefit of temperature drop is the ability to drop the temperature
below the dew point and remove the water from the air. The benefit of this is that this
water is considered clean. The inlet air conditions are 300C, with relative humidity of
80% and exit conditions of 100C and 0% relative humidity.
(C) REVERSING SYSTEM OF HEAT
The reverse of Ranque-Hilsch phenomenon produces a temperature separation
creating a significant heat rise. Laboratory experiments of the dissigno prototype have
reached over 800C. This has several practical applications. These high temperatures
may be used to reach pasteurization temperatures for water. In addition, the model
suggested the vortex tube may need to be occasionally defrosted to maintain the
performance. The system could be temporarily reversed to melt any ice in the system.

53

(D) INCREASED VORTEX EFFICIENCY

The vortex is by far the least efficient part of this process and increase its
efficiency will dramatically affect the overall efficiency of the system. Vortex
performance has been the topic of research to make it more effective as a refrigeration
device. Twisted airflow disturbance can be used to increase the cold production. The
rigid spiral showed an increase in the refrigeration effect by up to 25%. This increase
in the performance would greatly increase the overall efficiency of the system and
directly increases the Ice production.

7.2 Future Developments

(A) USE OF SILENCERS AND MUFFLERS:
The experimental investigation shows that the air is leaving the tube with high
shrill noise. Using silencer and sound mufflers can attenuate the hissing sound. Such
an arrangement while reducing the sound level also increases the temperature of out
coming air by increasing its pressure and reducing its velocity. Hence, an effective
arrangement optimizing the sound attenuation and lower outer temperature can be
developed.
(B) DESIGN OF WARM TUBE END:
A valve is used at the end of warm tube to allow some air to escape as hot air and
reversing the direction of remaining air, thus creating forced vortex, i.e. desired cold
fraction is achieved by the valve. Different types of valves have been tested and it has
been found that they give more or less the same result. However, fixing the desired
outlet temperature of the air i.e., Cold fraction and an effective arrangement like
fitting a brass can use bush with small orifice to give desired output. Further the
elimination of the valve reduces the overall weight of the tube.
(C) DESIGN OF OUTER TUBE:
Outer tube besides holding the whole assembly, also acts as mediator in heat
dissipation, hence it should be designed in such a way that it dissipates heat as quickly

54

as it can. This can be achieved by drilling the holes on the hot side of the outer tube
enhancing the natural circulation. Also water cooling may improve the heat transfer.
(D) THE COLD ORIFICE OR DIAPHRAGM:
When the temperature of air drops down below 00C, the moisture in it gets
converted into ice. This may obstruct the flow and can alter the performance. Hence a
deep study is needed to be carried out in these regards. Apart from above areas there
are more regions of developments one can concentrate on such as relatively high
power consumptions, low COP of the system.

Recommendations:
Based on the fact that the device had very poor cooling capacity as compared with
industry standard refrigeration devices, it would not be a good substitute for
commercial purposes. Significant redesign of the device may in the future better the
cooling capacity to a point where it may be usable in the refrigeration industry, but for
now, all these devices can be reasonably used for the spot cooling and perhaps
providing a quick and simple way to cool or heat a pressure stream.
Since the device has specific length and diameter restrictions, one cannot significantly
alter the design of the tube. The reason it has certain length restrictions is that too
short of the tube would not give the hot stream enough time to heat up and too long of
a length would cause the vortex within the tube to depressurize and collapse.
Likewise, too large a tube diameter will also collapse the vortex flow, so there are
tight restrictions on tube design. Increasing pressure will help to enlarge these
dimensions, but only slightly and pressurizing the air could get costly depending on
the scale up.

55

REFERENCES
[1] Vera, G.D. The Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube, May 10, 2010.
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Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube. Graduate Program in Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering, 2009
[3] N.V. Poshernev and I.L. Khodorkov. Natural-gas tests on a conical vortex tube
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[4] R.L. Collins and R.B. Lovelace. Experimental study of two-phase propane
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[5] R.T. Balmer. Pressure-driven Ranque-Hilsch temperature separation in liquids.
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[6] Smith Eiamsa-ard and P. Promvonge, Numerical simulation of flow field and
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56

[10] W.S. Lewellen. A solution for three-dimentional vortex flows with strong
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57

58