In this manuscript, both experimental and numerical investigations have been
carried out to study the mechanism of separation energy and flow phenomena
in the counter flow vortex tube. This manuscript presents a complete
comparison between the experimental investigation and CFD analysis. The
experimental model was manufactured with (total length of 104 mm and the
inner diameter of 8 mm, and made of cast iron) tested under different inlet
pressures (4, 5 and 6 bar). The thermal performance has been studied for hot
and cold outlet temperature as a function of mass fraction ? (0.3- 0.8).
Three-dimensional numerical modeling using the k-? model used with code
(Fluent 6.3.26). Two types of velocity components are studied (axial and
swirl). The results show any increase in both cold mass fraction and inlet
pressure caused to increase ?Tc, and the maximum ?Tc value occurs at P = 6
bar. The coefficient of performance (COP) of two important factors in the
vortex tube which are a heat pump and a refrigerator have been evaluated,
which ranged from 0.25 to 0.74. A different axial location (Z/L = 0.2, 0.5,
and 0.8) was modeled to evaluate swirl velocity and radial profiles, where
the swirl velocity has the highest value. The maximum axial velocity is 93,
where it occurs at the tube axis close to the inlet exit (Z/L=0.2). The
results showed a good agreement for experimental and numerical analysis.
Experimental study and CFD analysis of energy separation in a counter flow vortex tube
