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The Effect of Different Vortex Tube Generators on Cold Flow

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment
A Vortex Tube cooling kit is helpful when flow and temperature requirements are unknown. The experimental kit affords you the flexibility to determine your cooling needs.

I recently had a customer e-mail me with this inquiry. Following is our discussion:

Customer:

We have a small vortex (3208) and a set of generators, the one that is pre-installed in the Vortex Tube (8GR) and a few more:

2GR, 4GR, 2GC, 4GC, 8GC

Maybe you could tell me the effect of these generators on the cold flow.

My main application is to refrigerate tools during machining or cool ultrasonic transducers during continuous operation. My compressed air source is 6.5 BARG. Using the Vortex Tube as it comes, after closing the hot flow and opening it a revolution, I can reduce the temperature from 22ºC (room temperature) to -6ºC (measured in the cold air flow at the output). How do I use the flow generators?

EXAIR:
Thank you for your question concerning the generators which are interchangeable on the Vortex Tube.  The purpose of the various sizes and types is explained as follows:

GC vs. GR designation: The GC type generators are designed to achieve maximum temperature drop for applications which may need an airflow which is below 0 degrees F. It is unusual that an industrial cooling application would need air this cold, but some scientific and other similar academic pursuits do need air flows that cold. The thing you give up when you try to achieve low cold temperature is the flow. Flow and temperature drop are inversely related to one another with a vortex tube’s function.

The GR type generators are used for temperatures down to zero degrees F. So, these would be the more prominently used generators for industrial applications. We usually will set up a Vortex Tube in a cooling application to have about 50 degree F temperature drop and can still preserve 80% of the total flow for cold flow applications. This is what we refer to as maximum refrigeration settings.

As for the numbers on each generator (2, 4 or 8) this is the indication of the amount of air volume consumed by the Vortex Tube when this specific generator is installed. The flow rate is indicated in SCFM with 100 PSIG inlet working pressure. So an 8 SCFM @ 100 PSIG flow rate is what is determined by an 8-GR or 8-GC generator. Small Vortex Tubes are available in flows of 2, 4 or 8 SCFM.

Basically, the larger your flow rate, the more cooling power you can generate. Think of the cold air as ice. Think of 8 SCFM as a 55 gallon drum of ice and a 2 SCFM as a 5 gallon bucket of ice. Both have the same temperature, but the 55 gallon size has potential to do more work to cool down a larger heat load.

Creating a spot of heat with a torch or an electric heating element is not hard to do with common tools found in a manufacturing environment. Creating a spot of cold air for similar situations is a very tough thing to do in the same situation. A Vortex Tube is a handy and convenient tool to allow for the spot cooling or small chamber cooling applications.

If you have a spot cooling application you think we may be able to help with, please contact us by e-mail, chat, Face Book, Twitter, phone or fax. We will be glad to assist.

Neal Raker, Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Stories from the past

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

When I was fresh out of college with very little idea of what I wanted in a career or a job, I landed a job in the machine tool industry.  This was for a small company that was a master distributor of CNC metal-cutting machines.  The job title I had was, Product Specialist.  This job encompassed everything from unloading the machine from the truck, inspecting the machine, adding options / customizing the machine if needed, testing, packaging, and shipping the machine.  I would then go to the customers site, install, test again, train the staff there and then provide on-site and over-the-phone technical support and warranty work.  As the business evolved, the requirements grew and more responsibilities were added.

One of the best parts of the job was trade shows.   It was always hectic, but to see something come together in a small amount of time and see the finished product always made you feel good.   The largest show I would travel to was IMTS, which just happens to be going on in another month.  This is the largest machine technology show in the states.  I would always be running a machine cutting some kind of trinket or sample part.  The main piece I was cutting my first year there was a light bulb out of aluminum.

As my knowledge of the machinery grew, I came to realize the part wasn’t that complicated but it still amazes me to this day.

A lot of our products here at EXAIR do the same thing to people who have never encountered them.  They are absolutely amazed by the Cold Gun’s ability to drop your compressed air temperature by 50° F while having no internal moving parts and only using compressed air.  Just today, I had a customer come in for a demonstration and couldn’t believe he had been struggling with a heat problem for so many years when we were right down the highway from him.

So if you have an application that is impeding your process, or if you have an interesting use for some of our products don’t hesitate to contact us.  Maybe even stop over at our Facebook page and drop us a note or some pictures.  You might be surprised at what you get in return.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Do you know Where Your Compressor Lives?

Published on by 1 Comment

To most folks, compressed air is like any other utility. They have no idea where it comes from just that they expect it to be there when they need it. A good exercise is to pay a visit to your compressor room. Breathe in that hot, humid, grimy air. Then think about breathing that day in and day out. That is exactly what your compressor does. And where does all that ingested air go? Throughout your entire compressed air system and into your air tools.

I got a call from a customer complaining that his Air Knife kept plugging up. From the photo to the right you can see that he had horribly bad quality compressed air. The solution was the simple installation of an in-line compressed air filter. EXAIR filters separators remove water, dirt, and rust from the compressed air and prevents contaminants from plugging or damaging compressed air components.

With screw compressors, a thin-film of oil between the rotary vanes provide a seal. Under intense pressure the oil vaporizes. Being in a vapor state, an oil coalescing filter is required in addition to the dirt and water separator. A noteworthy point about compressor oil. It is aggressive and attacks polycarbonate and other materials. Consult your MSDS sheets for compatibility to materials of construction of your air tools.

If you would like assistance from one of our engineers feel welcomed to call 1-800-903-9247

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

Exactly Who Are You Dealing With Anyway?

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

I received a message from LinkedIn this morning. They have requested I add “skills” to my profile. They even gave me some suggestions. More specifically they suggested I add the skills of “Psychology”, “Africa” and “Silicon” . They even gave me the opportunity to see an expanded list of skills I could add to my profile! So I begin to think…

I use psychology every day while raising three kids, two “tweens” and one kid without a fancy label – and that one is particularly fond of Weird Al. For those reasons alone I must dabble a bit in behaviorism. I minored in psychology in college. I know about Jung and Freud, and spent portions of my college career with an “unconscious mind”. I learned about abnormal psychology and I have seen Young Frankenstein MANY times.

In other words, I am seriously considering adding “psychology” to my skills profile.

And coincidentally just yesterday I looked at a map of the world, found Africa, and then zeroed in on Zambia. Can you find Zambia? (If you can you should add “Africa” to your skills). I know it is a continent and shaped like a horses head and is home to some of the most fascinating animals on earth. And it has a large island off its coast called Madagascar – again I have seen all the Madagascar movies made by DreamWorks. Add “Africa” to my skills? I think so.

And then there is “Silicon” which I don’t know much about, but I looked it up on wikipedia and now I feel much more informed and skilled in reference to it. It might be a stretch but I think it could be added to my skills on LinkedIn. And in looking over the long list of things they said I could add I am also considering “Festivals” (I have been to many), “Estate Planning” (I have a will) and “Debugging” (I worked a summer temp job for an exterminator years ago).

Here’s the point, so many times it is difficult to know who you are dealing with, what skills they actually have and what their experience may be. If you think the above illustrations are a stretch, I would typically mumble something about how big of a world it is and that people are generally crazy – don’t put it past ’em.

Fortunately, at EXAIR, we have vehicles to prove who you are dealing with. A phone call, e-mail or chat will get you the expertise you are looking for from a staff of experienced Application Engineers with varied backgrounds and insights. You can also see more of our personalities on Twitter and Facebook. And then we round it out with this blog so you can be confident you know more about the people you are dealing with. (You may now consider one of them to be mildly crazy, but hey – I’m just trying to fit in).

If you need assistance with saving your compressed air and keeping it safe, let us know.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com