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Experimental investigation on the interactive effects of area ratio, nozzle configuration and geometric scale in vortex tubes. 

Author(s) : KE J., GUO X., TANG F., ZHANG B.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

This study experimentally decoupled the independent and interactive effects of nozzle area ratio (AR), geometric scale, nozzle number, and cross-sectional shape on the energy separation performance of vortex tubes. The re sults indicate that an AR of 0.135 yielded the optimal energy separation performance, achieving a balance be tween nozzle momentum generation and the establishment of backpressure within the vortex chamber. In terms of scale effects, the unit area mass flow rate and hot outlet pressure confirmed cross-scale hydrodynamic simi larity; however, the cooling efficiency of the small-diameter tube decreased due to the amplification of viscous dissipation. Furthermore, experimental results indicate that the performance differences among multi-nozzle configurations (N = 3, 4, 6) are far smaller than the differences caused by changing the AR. The comparative experiments between rectangular and circular nozzles further confirmed that the cross-sectional shape has a minor impact, yielding a maximum temperature difference of only 2.08 K and a pressure deviation within 1.4% under a fixed AR. Consequently, the AR is identified as the dominant parameter determining the performance baseline, whereas the nozzle number serves as a tuning parameter. It is recommended that practical designs prioritize matching the optimal AR, followed by the selection of a moderate nozzle number (N = 3 or 4) to achieve optimal performance.

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Details

  • Original title: Experimental investigation on the interactive effects of area ratio, nozzle configuration and geometric scale in vortex tubes. 
  • Record ID : 30034930
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 187
  • Publication date: 2026/07
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2026.106940

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