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Vortex Tubes are a product of the EXAIR Corporation. They use compressed air as a power source, have no moving parts and produce cold air from one end and hot air from the other.
Usually the cold air is used for refrigeration or spot cooling applications. The hot air can be used for spot heating applications but the temperatures and volumes are not very high and usually there is a better way to get hot air.
No, for proper operation, the Vortex Tube cold outlet should not be subjected to any restrictions that would produce backpressure in excess of 5 PSIG. An Air Amplifier would restrict the flow of a Vortex Tube to the point where the backpressure is excessive and severely limit the cooling capacity of the Vortex Tube.
The Vortex Tube is a phenomenon of physics, no one knows exactly why a Vortex Tube works. A description of how the air moves is given below:
Compressed air, normally 80-100 PSIG (5.5 - 6.9 BAR), is injected tangentially through a generator into the vortex spin chamber. At up to 1,000,000 RPM, this air stream revolves toward the hot end where some escapes through the control valve. The remaining air, still spinning, is forced back through the center of this outer vortex. The inner stream gives off kinetic energy in the form of heat to the outer stream and exits the vortex tube as cold air. The outer stream exits the opposite end as hot air.
For more details, contact our Application Engineers at (800) 903-9247.
The Vortex Tube is the fundamental component inside all the applied EXAIR products that generate cold airflow. The Vortex Tube is available in 3 different sizes and produces a wide span of cooling capacities. All models shown in the catalog have an adjustable valve at the hot end that can change the proportions of hot and cold airflow to their respective ends. On special order, this valve can be replaced with a preset orifice that will provide a pre-determined amount of temperature drop/rise. The Vortex Tube also contains a series of inserts called “generators” that offer a wide range of flow rates for each Vortex Tube size. These generators size the flow to the application.
Most of the applied products (Cabinet Cooler, Cold Gun, Mini Cooler and Component Cooler) have a fixed total flow capacity that is ideal for that product. The valve has been replaced with a preset orifice that allows the Vortex Tube to deliver the highest cooling capacity available. The exception is the Adjustable Spot Cooler, where the temperature is adjustable and flow rates can be changed by using the interchangeable generators. All of these cold air products include other features that make them easy to mount and keep the noise level low.
The Vortex Tube Performance Charts give approximate temperature drops (and rises) from inlet air temperature produced by a Vortex Tube set at each cold fraction. Assuming no fluctuation of inlet temperature or pressure, a Vortex Tube will reliably maintain temperature within ±1°F.
There are a few reasons why this may be occurring.
If you have any further questions, or if these tips failed to solve your problem, please contact an Application Engineer at 1-800-903-9247.
A Vortex Tube provides a temperature drop on the cold end and a temperature rise on the hot end from supply air temperature. Elevated inlet temperatures will produce a corresponding rise in both the cold and hot end air temperatures.
The performance of a Vortex Tube deteriorates with backpressure on the cold end exhaust. Low back pressure, up to 2 PSIG will not change performance. 5 PSIG will change performance by about 5°F.
There are several ways to determine the Cold Fraction you are currently using on your Vortex Tube. One is to utilize the Performance Data chart in the Vortex Tube of section of our catalog or website which displays the temperature drop and rise of the Vortex Tube at different temperatures and supply pressures. You can measure the temperature of the cold air exiting the Vortex Tube and compare it to our charts. The air temp should be measured immediately out of the Vortex Tube as the air stream will warm as it mixes with ambient air.
The other method is to use an air flow meter to measure the volume of air both going into and out of the unit and comparing the hot or cold flow of the unit. Comparing the hot or cold flow rate to the total will give you the relative cold or hot fraction setting.
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