An experimental investigation on the efficiency of snail entry in vortex tube fed low inlet air pressure to reduce temperature of low pressure air

An experimental investigation on the efficiency of snail entry in vortex tube fed low inlet air pressure to reduce temperature of low pressure air

Wasan Naksanee Ratthasak Prommas 

Rattanakosin College for Sustainable Energy and Environment (RCSEE), Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, 96 moo3 Puthamonthon Sai 5, Salaya, Puthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand

Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, 96 moo3 Puthamonthon Sai 5, Salaya, Puthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand

Corresponding Author Email: 
ratthasak.pro@rmutr.ac.th
Page: 
1223-1232
|
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.18280/ijht.360409
Received: 
30 April 2018
| |
Accepted: 
10 December 2018
| | Citation

OPEN ACCESS

Abstract: 

This study seeks to explain the use of low pressure inlet air to serve as a cooling agent to lower the discharge temperature of hot air by employing a vortex tube which has a snail nozzle designed specifically to achieve this objective. A series of tests were performed using various snail nozzles with entries of (n) 4-8 at a pressures of 1, 2, and 3 bar, using a counter-flow vortex tube with inner diameters of 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 mm. During the course of the experiment it was possible to vary the maximum temperature within the vortex as well as the energy separation, by making adjustments to the inlet air stream. It was thus possible for this stream to leave the vortex tube at a temperature level equal to just 40% of the intake mass flow. The vortex tube thus exhibited a cooling capacity capable of taking an inlet temperature at the snail nozzle of 25 °C, and reducing this to a low of -20.2 °C. The largest observed change in air temperature   amounting to 45.2° C, was achieved with a vortex tube diameter of 16 mm and the use of a 6-snail nozzle. Cooling efficiency could be calculated to provide η max cooling 41.6 %.

Keywords: 

snail entry, Vortex tube, Inlet air pressure

1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
Acknowledgement
Nomenclature
  References

[1] Thakare HR, Parekh AD. (2017). Experimental investigation & CFD analysis of Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube. Energy 133: 284-298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.070

[2] Attalla M, Ahmed H, Salem Ahmed M, El-WafaAA. (2017). Experimental investigation for thermal performance of series and parallel Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube systems. Applied Thermal Engineering 123: 327-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.084

[3] Cebeci I, Kirmaci V, Topcuoglu U. (2016). The effects of orifice nozzle number and nozzle made of polyamide plastic and aluminum with different inlet pressures on heating and cooling performance of counter flow Ranque–Hılsch vortex tubes: An experimental investigation. International Journal of Refrigeration 72: 140-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2016.07.013

[4] Eiamsa-ard S, Promvonge P. (2008). Review of Ranque-Hilsch effects in vortex tubes. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 12: 1822-1842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2007.03.006

[5] Eiamsa–ard S. (2010). Experimental investigation of energy separation in a counter-flow Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube with multiple inlet snail entries. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 32: 100-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2009.09.013

[6] Saidi MH, Valipour MS. (2003). Experimental modeling of vortex tube refrigerator. Applied Thermal Engineering 23: 1971-1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-4311(03)00146-7

[7] Promvonge P, Eiamsa-ard S. (2004). Experimental investigation of temperature separation in a vortex tube refrigerator with snail entrance. Asean Journal on Science & Technology for Development: 297- 308.

[8] Subudhi S, Sen M. (2015). Review of Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube experiment using air. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52: 172-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.103

[9] Aydın O, Baki M. (2006). An experimental study on the design parameters of a counterflow vortex tube. Energy 31: 2763-2772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2005.11.017

[10] Bovan M, Valipour MS, Dincer K, Eiamsa-ard S. (2014). Application of response surface methodology to optimization of astandard Ranquee Hilsch vortex tube refrigerator. Applied Thermal Engineering 67: 545-553.

[11] Wisnoea W, Abd Rahmana KM, Istihatb Y, David Natarajana V. (2016). Thermofluid-acoustic analysis of a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube. Procedia Technology 26P: 544–551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2016.08.068 

[12] Manimaran R. (2016). Computational analysis of energy separation in a counter-flow vortex tube based on inlet shape and aspect ratio. Energy 107: 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.04.005

[13] Subudhi S, Sen M. (2015). Review of Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube experiments using air. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 52: 172-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.103 

[14] Thakare HR, Parekh AD. (2014). CFD analysis of energy separation of vortex tube employing different gases, turbulence models and discretization schemes. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78: 360-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2014.06.083  

[15] Zhang B, Guo X, Yang Z. (2016). Analysis on the fluid flow in vortex tube with vortex periodical oscillation characteristics. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 103: 1166-1175.

[16] Bovand M, Valipour MS, Eiamsa-ard S, Tamayol A. (2013). Numerical analysis for curved vortex tube optimization. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 50: 98-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2013.11.012

[17] Agrawal N, Naik SS, Gawale YP. (2014). Experimental investigation of vortex tube using natural substances. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 52: 51-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2014.01.009

[18] Liang Z, Luo X, Feng Y, Xu G. (2015). Experimental investigation of pressure losses in a co-rotating cavity with radial inflow employing tubed vortex reducers with varied nozzles. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science. 66: 304-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2015.03.008

[19] Amiri EO. (2018). Application of computational experiments based on the response surface methodology for studying of the recirculation zone in the Y-shaped channe. Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems 5(3): 243-248. https://doi.org/10.18280/mmep.050317

[20] Camaraza-Medina Y, Khandy NH, Carlson KM, Cruz-Fonticiella OM, García-Morales OF, ReyesCabrera D. (2018). Evaluation of condensation heat transfer in air-cooled condenser by dominant flow criteria. Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems 5(2): 76-82. https://doi.org/10.18280/mmep.050204

[21] Moraveji A, Toghraie D. (2017). Computational fluid dynamics simulation of heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in a vortex tube by considering the various parameters. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 113: 432-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2017.05.095 

[22] Kolmes EJ, Geyko VI, Fisch NJ. (2017). Heat pump model for Ranque–Hilsch vortex tubes. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 107: 771-777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.11.072