Demonstrating the achievement of lower temperatures with two-stage vortex tubes

Abstract

Vortex tubes separate single inlet streams of compressed air into two discharge streams. One stream exits at a lower temperature than the inlet stream, and the other exits at a higher temperature. The difference between the lower outlet temperature and the inlet temperature is ΔT. This study demonstrates that with equal inlet temperatures, a two-stage vortex tube (i.e., two vortex tubes operating simultaneously in series) can produce a greater ΔT than the ΔT produced by either one of the vortex tubes operating independently. Specifically, results demonstrate that two single-stage tubes that have ΔT values, which are, respectively, −17.37 and −16.17 °C, can be combined into a two-staged vortex tube that has a ΔT of −19.33 °C. Thus, the cooling capability of a vortex tube can be increased by staging.