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Re: Ranque-Hilsch Vortex tube



At 04:06 PM 4/24/00 -0400, David Strasburger-fac wrote:
Can anyone recommend any good references on the Ranque-Hilsch Vortex tube?
I have a very dedicated and resourceful student (high school senior) who
wants to build one (his idea, not mine.) We have looked together for
references but not turned up much that was helpful.

The obvious search
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=aq&q=%28Ranque+or+Hilsch%29+nea
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=aq&q=%28Ranque+or+Hilsch%29+near+v
ortex
turns up 127 hits. It works better if you spell Hilsch without an "e" on
the end.

The second one on the list seems fairly sensible:
http://birleanu-pc1.sunderland.ac.uk/rhvtmatl/
and contains the following sections:

Chapters from my Thesis

Chapter 1: An introduction to the vortex tube
Chapter 2: Vortex tube literature survey
Chapter 3: Experimental investigation
Chapter 4: Computational investigation
Chapter 5: Mechanisms of energy transfer
Chapter 6: A model of Ranque-Hilsch Tube performance
Chapter 7: Applications
Vortex tube references - my complete list

Overview material

The Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube : Summary
Photo of Equipment (Poor Quality)
Constructional Details
A brief discussion of the energy transfer Phenomenon
Vortex Tube Performance
Applications of the Vortex Tube
Sponsors of the Project

Most references we found were fairly vague as to construction details.

The one cited above includes machine-shop style diagrams.

There is, apparently, a good reference in the Amateur Scientist column in
the November 1958 issue of Scientific American, but we're still working on
getting our hands on a copy.

Huh? Don't they have libraries in Massachusetts?

I would also like to hear it if anyone had a good way of explaining how
this thing works. The descriptions I have read have been fairly
hand-wavy.

Right. The discussions I've seen are mutually contradictory. Some of them
are even self-contradictory.

The two most believable statements I found were at
http://www.ifdt.uh.edu/vtc/heatmass.html
which says
Thus far, attempts to enhance the efficiency of the VT
have not been successful because the mechanism of thermal
separation (TS) is not well understood.

and also
http://birleanu-pc1.sunderland.ac.uk/rhvtmatl/explan.htm
which says
(1) As of 1996, no-one knows for sure the details of how the
energy separation in the vortex tube arises. A number of authors
have written confidently about their theories, but all have
serious deficiencies or are called into question by subsequent
experiments....

(2) The vortex tube is a tough nut to crack. The energy/temperature
separation is a complex and subtle phenomenon. Anyone who solves
the mystery definitively will do so as the result of a serious
programme of experimental and theoretical research.

My student's first model R-H tube did not accomplish any appreciable
temperature differences.

Using what for an air source? The Sunderland guys used a compressor the
size of room. The phenomenon is highly nonlinear.

Suggestions:
1) Write to the University of Houston guys.
2) Check out the vortex-tube mailing list at Sunderland.

Please let us know what you find out.