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Species separation in Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube using air as working fluid

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Abstract

A set of experimental as well as theoretical species separation studies in Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube (RHVT) with air as a binary gas mixture have been explored in this paper. The mixture is compressed and tangentially introduced into the vortex chamber of the RHVT and two streams are withdrawn at opposite ends of the device. Thermal as well as species separation are observed between these two outlet streams. Main objective of this paper is to analyse the role of most important geometrical and process parameters that influence species separation in RHVT. Another objective of this work is to present an improved version of a mathematical model to predict mass transfer in a counter current RHVT. A preliminary version of the model has been presented in a previous publication [1]. The model is validated with data obtained from in-house experiments conducted as well as data reported in literature by various researchers.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Exposed cold surface area (m2)

A h :

Exposed hot surface area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat of gas at constant pressure (J/K)

d c :

Cold orifice diameter (m).

d i :

Vortex tube inlet diameter (m).

D vt :

Vortex tube diameter (m).

D f :

Coefficient of diffusion (m2/s).

F (1–3) :

Model parameter between inlet and hot outlet.

P 1 :

Inlet pressure (Pa)

P 2 :

Cold outlet pressure (Pa)

R :

Universal gas constant (=8.314 J / mol. K)

Ra D :

Rayleigh number (=GrD. Pr)

Re :

Reynolds number (\( \frac{d_i{v}_i\rho }{\mu } \))

T :

Average gas temperature (K)

T 1 :

Cold outlet temperature (K)

T 2 :

Cold outlet temperature (K)

T 3 :

Hot outlet temperature (K)

T amb :

Ambient temperature (K)

T c,S :

Cold end temperature from Shannk model (K).

T h,S :

Hot end temperature from Shannk model (K)

T s :

Surface temperature (K)

T α :

Ambient temperature (K)

u :

Rates of diffusional separation in radial direction per unit tube length, kg/(m.s)

v i :

Vortex tube inlet velocity (m/s)

v Ɵ :

Azimuthal component of gas velocity (m/s)

v z :

Axial component of gas velocity (m/s)

X :

Normalized pressure drop between the inlet and the cold end of the vortex tube

F (2–3) :

Model parameter between cold and hot outlet

g :

Gravitational acceleration (=9.81 m/s2)

Gr D :

Grashof Number \( =\left(\frac{g\beta \Delta T{D}_{vt}^3}{\nu^{2.}}\right) \)

h avg :

Average heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

L :

Length of vortex tube (m)

m 1 :

Inlet mass flow rate (kg/s)

m 2 :

Cold outlet mass flow rate (kg/s)

m 3 :

Hot outlet mass flow rate (kg/s)

M m :

Mean molecular weight of gas (kg mole)

N :

Concentration in mole fraction of the lighter component

Nu D :

Nusselt number

N 2 :

Mole fraction of heavier species at hot outlet

N 3 :

Mole fraction of heavier species at cold outlet

Pr :

Prandtl number (\( \frac{c_p\mu }{k} \))

P o :

Average pressure between inlet and cold outlet (Pa)

α:

Separation factor

β :

Coefficient of expansion of fluid (K−1)

γ :

Ratio of specific heats

ΔM :

Difference in molecular weight of two species (Mole)

∆T 2, L :

Drop in cold outlet temperature, experimental value from literature (K)

∆T 2, S :

Drop in cold outlet temperature, from Shannak model (K)

∆T 3, L :

Rise in hot outlet temperature, experimental value from literature (K)

∆T 3, S :

Rise in hot outlet temperature, from Shannak model (K)

∆T C :

Correction for rise in cold outlet temperature (K)

∆T h :

Correction for fall in hot outlet temperature (K)

∈A :

Elementary separation factor for a multicomponent gas mixture

θ c :

Cold mass fraction

θ c, opt :

Optimum value of cold mass fraction

θ h :

Partial cut of the heavier component

θ l :

Partial cut of the lighter component

μ :

Viscosity (Pa.s)

ν :

Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

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  1. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India

    M. Chatterjee, S. Mukhopadhyay & P. K. Vijayan

  2. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, India

    S. Mukhopadhyay

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Chatterjee, M., Mukhopadhyay, S. & Vijayan, P.K. Species separation in Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube using air as working fluid. Heat Mass Transfer 54, 3559–3572 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-018-2386-3

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