The Ranque Hilsch Vortex Tube Demystified : Understanding the Working Principles of the Vortex Tube

The book describes the thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and working principle of the Ranque Hilsch Vortex Tube. Although vortex tubes have been around for a long time, different explications of their fundamental physics and operation can be found in literature and on the internet. This volume investigates the working principle based on thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. It provides full explication of these parameters in one single work along with results of new investigations not published elsewhere. In addition, the book features a wealth of illustrations on various aspects of the vortex tube that make it easy to read and understand. About the authors Physicist and engineer André Kaufmann is the author of numerous publications in the field of fluid mechanics and co-author of a textbook on thermodynamics. Coined by his industrial experience, he deals with complex phenomena of engineering covering subjects that reach far beyond his ordinary tasks of teaching thermodynamics and fluid dynamics at the University of Applied Sciences, Ravensburg, Germany. Publisher Preface Contents 1 Introduction to the Ranque–Hilsch Vortex Tube 1.1 Working Principle of the Vortex Tube 1.2 Vortex Tube Geometries 1.3 Literature on the RHVT 1.4 Attempts to Explain the Working Mechanism 1.5 Outline of the Following Chapters 2 The Thermodynamic Point of View 2.1 Conservation of Mass 2.2 Conservation of Energy 2.3 Second Law: Entropy Balance 2.3.1 Entropy Balance from Experimental Data 2.3.2 Analysis of Single Step Expansion 2.3.3 Analysis with Limited Expansion Ratio 2.4 Efficiency of the RHVT 2.5 Thermodynamic Summary 3 Flow in the Vortex Tube 3.1 Structure of Swirling Flow with a Forced Vortex Boundary Condition 3.1.1 Secondary Flow Structures in the Turbulent Pipe 3.1.2 Secondary Flow Structures at the Cylinder Wall 3.2 Flow Structure and Typical Velocity Profiles in the RHVT 3.2.1 Sections for the Velocity Profiles 3.2.2 RHVT Flow Structure with μ=0.0 3.2.3 RHVT Flow Structure with μ=1.0 3.2.4 Flow Structure at μ=0.3 3.3 Circumferential Velocity Balance 3.4 Summary of the Flow Structure in the Vortex Tube 4 The Energy Transport Mechanism 4.1 Energy Conservation Equations 4.1.1 Conservation of Total Enthalpy 4.1.2 Dominant Effects in the Total Enthalpy Balance Example: Water in a Pipe Example: Air Flow at Ambient Conditions 4.1.3 Non-dimensional Value of Fo·Re / Ec for the Vortex Tube Nomenclature of the Viscous Term 4.1.4 Conservation of Kinetic Energy 4.1.5 Conservation of Sensible Enthalpy 4.1.6 Links Between the Energy Equations and Viscous Source Terms 4.2 Dependence of the Viscous Terms on the Velocity Profile 4.2.1 Analytical Example of Viscous Term in a Laminar Pipe Flow (Poiseuille) Profile 4.2.2 The Viscous Energy Flux in Poiseuille Flow 4.3 Analytical Example of Viscous Term with a SyntheticFlow Profile 4.4 Effect of the Viscous Term in the Turbulent Pipe with Rotating Flow 4.5 Effect of the Viscous Term in the Vortex Tube 4.5.1 Viscous Source Terms in the RHVT 4.5.2 Viscous Enthalpy Flux 4.5.3 Thermodynamic Estimates 4.6 Transport Equations for Sensible Enthalpy 4.6.1 Solution for the Enthalpy Equation 4.6.2 Choice of the Characteristic Length Scale 4.7 Exchange of Kinetic Energy and Sensible Enthalpy 4.7.1 Circumferential Kinetic Energy Balance 4.8 The Entropy Balance 4.9 Energy Transfer in Liquid Fluids 4.10 Energy Transfer Summary 5 The Working Mechanism of the RHVT 5.1 Definition of Thermodynamic States 5.2 Molecular Point of View of Momentum Transfer 5.3 Working Mechanism Summary 6 Useful Applications of the RHVT Bibliography