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Experimental analysis on vortex tube energy separation performance

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Abstract

The present study reports the effect of several operating parameters on the thermal performance of the vortex tube. The experimental results indicate that the inlet pressure and the cold fraction are the most significant parameters influencing the vortex tube performance. The experimental data point out that insulation has minimal effect on the vortex tube performance. The same inlet pressure tests show that energy separation increases as number of inlet nozzle increases.

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Abbreviations

COP:

Coefficient of performance

D :

Vortex tube inner diameter, m

h :

Enthalpy, kJ/kg

P in :

Inlet pressure, bar

\( \dot{m}_{h} \) :

Hot mass flow rate, kg/s

\( \dot{m}_{c} \) :

Cold mass flow rate, kg/s

\( \dot{m}_{in} \) :

Inlet mass flow rate, kg/s

RHVT:

Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube

T h :

Hot outlet temperature, °C

T c :

Cold outlet temperature, °C

T in :

Inlet temperature, °C

ΔT h :

Temperature difference between the inlet and the hot outlet, ΔT h  = T h  − T in

ΔT c :

Temperature difference between the inlet and the cold outlet, ΔT c  = T in  − T c

\( \epsilon\) :

Cold mass fraction; \( \varepsilon = \dot{m}_{c} /\dot{m}_{in} \)

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by United Arab Emirates University. This work was financially supported by the Research Affairs at the United Arab Emirates University under a contract no. 01-05-7-11/09.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17555, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates

    Mohammad O. Hamdan, Ahmed Alawar, Emad Elnajjar & Waseem Siddique

Authors
  1. Mohammad O. Hamdan
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  2. Ahmed Alawar
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  3. Emad Elnajjar
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  4. Waseem Siddique
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Correspondence to Mohammad O. Hamdan.

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Hamdan, M.O., Alawar, A., Elnajjar, E. et al. Experimental analysis on vortex tube energy separation performance. Heat Mass Transfer 47, 1637–1642 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-011-0824-6

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