When working with a cooling application, many customers will immediately look to the Vortex Tube and Spot Cooling product lines. While this may be the best solution for some applications, cold air is not always the best method that we have available for cooling. EXAIR’s Super Air Amplifiers are very effective at reducing the temperature of a part without requiring cold air. The Super Air Amplifiers get their name due to their ability to entrain ambient air and “amplify” the supplied compressed air. You’ll often see us referring to the air amplification ratios achieved with our products. This is a ratio of the supplied compressed air relative to the entrained “free” air that comes from the ambient environment.
Due to their ability to entrain large amounts of ambient air, we can move a high volume of air across the surface of the part and quickly lower the temperature. I like to compare this to blowing on a hot cup of coffee just as it’s been brewed. The temperature of the air coming from your mouth is around 98.6°F, the same as your body temperature. Coffee can be as hot as 185°F when fresh. Due to the temperature differential between your breath and the hot coffee, we’re able to achieve a reasonable amount of cooling just by simply blowing across the surface. Typically, when the target temperature of the part or material needs to be around ambient temperature or higher; the best solution for cooling is going to be a Super Air Amplifier.
EXAIR’s Super Air Amplifiers achieve air amplification ratios ranging from 12:1 on our smallest units and up to 25:1 for our 4” and 8” models. EXAIR’s Super Air Amplifiers utilize a patented shim design to maintain critical positioning of component parts. This allows a precise amount of compressed air to be released at exact intervals toward the center of the Super Air Amplifier. This creates a constant, high velocity outlet flow across the entire cross-sectional area. Free, ambient air is entrained through the unit, resulting in high amplification ratios. The balanced outlet airflow minimizes wind shear to produce sound levels far lower than other similar air movers.
Super Air Amplifiers are supplied with a .003” thick shim that is ideal for most applications. Flow and force can be increased by replacing the shim with a thicker .006” or .009” shim. The flow of air is also controlled by adjusting the input pressure supplied to the amplifier. Higher pressures increase both the force and flow, while lower pressures decrease both force and flow. All Super Air Amplifiers are available in kits that come with a shim set as well as a suitably sized pressure regulator and auto-drain filter.
EXAIR has a solution for you if you need to move A LOT of air. Reach out to an Application Engineer today if you have an application that you believe could be served with a low-cost, simple solution!
Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD