A vortex tube is a mechanical device used to separate a compressed gas into hot and cold streams. High-pressure air is fed into a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube and air exits at 1-bar pressure; cold air exits the left side and hot air exits the right side. Use the “fraction of feed in cold stream” slider to adjust the fraction of feed in the cold stream (left side); this adjusts the throttle valve on the right side (triangle). Use the “feed pressure (bar, absolute)” slider to modify the inlet pressure. The color of the flowing gas indicates its temperature; blue is cold and red is hot. The coefficient of performance and isentropic efficiency are shown in the top-right corner. The coefficient of performance equals the isentropic efficiency multiplied by the fraction of feed gas in the cold stream.

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About:

This simulation was made at the University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.  Author(s): Adam J. Johnston, Neil Hendren, Rachael L. Baumann

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