Throughout my tenure with EXAIR there are may days where I have tested different operating pressure, volumetric flow rates, back pressures, lengths of discharge tubing, generator compression, and even some new inquiries with cold air distribution all on a vortex tube. These all spawn from great conversations with existing customers or potential customers on different ways to apply and applications for vortex tubes.
Many of the conversations start in the same spot… How exactly does this vortex tube work, and how do I get the most out of it? Well, the answer is never the same as every application has some variation. I like to start with a good idea of the area, temperatures, and features of exactly what we are trying to cool down. The next step is learning how fast this needs to be done. That all helps determine whether we are going to be looking at a small, medium, or large vortex tube and which cooling capacity to choose. After determining these factors the explanation on how to adjust the vortex tube to meet the needs of the application begins.
This video below is a great example of how a vortex tube is adjusted and what the effects of the cold fraction have and just how easy it is to adjust. This adjustment combined with varying the air pressure gives great versatility within a single vortex tube.
The table below showcases the test points that we have cataloged for performance values. As the video illustrates, by adjusting the cold fraction lower, meaning less volumetric flow of air is coming out of the cold side and more is exhausting out the hot side, the colder the temperature gets.
This chart helps to determine the best case scenario of performance for the vortex tube. Then the discussion leads to delivery of the cold or hot air onto the target. That is where the material covered in these two blogs, Blog 1, Blog 2 comes into play and we get to start using some math. (Yes I realize the blogs are from 2016, the good news is the math hasn’t changed and Thermodynamics hasn’t either.) This then leads to a final decision on which model of vortex tube will best suit the application or maybe if a different products such as a Super Air Amplifier (See Tyler Daniel’s Air Amplifier Cooling Video here.)is all that is needed.
Where this all boils down to is, if you have any questions on how to apply a vortex tube or other spot cooling product, please contact us. When we get to discuss applications that get extremely detailed it makes us appreciate all the testing and experience we have gained over the years. Also, it helps to build on those experiences because no two applications are exactly the same.
Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF