The vortex tube was invented in 1931 by French physicist George J Ranque. Despite being around for a long time they are an often overlooked piece of cooling technology that has many handy features for the modern production environment.
The vortex tube uses the expansion of a compressed air supply to set it spinning in a generator chamber. This rapidly rotating air then separates into a cold and hot steam travelling in different directions. No actual heat is generated or lost in the process but the localised hot and cold air streams are extremely useful for a variety of cooling systems.
Advantages
- They are very simple devices with no moving parts meaning they are almost maintenance free.
- Vortex tubes have a very low cost when compared to other types of cooler. Typically, they are less expensive than air conditioning units.
- If used to cool cabinets they help keep the enclosure a slightly positive pressure which can help with dust contamination problems
- Vortex tubes are small when compared to other cooling systems. This makes them easier to retrofit into a cramped factory environment.
- The compressed air used in a vortex tube is typically very dry, meaning they can help reduce the risk of condensation forming in humid environments.
- Vortex tubes represent a handy way to deliver dry tool cooling on CNC machines. This can be advantageous over liquid coolants in many situations.
- The cold air stream is generated almost instantaneously. This means that a vortex tube can be cycled on and off rapidly via a solenoid valve resulting in a highly responsive cooling system.
Applications
With all these features vortex tubes are commonly used in tool cooling, spot cooling, cabinet cooling, panel cooling and anywhere in a factory or machine shop where the installation of traditional chillers may be difficult or constrained by concerns over maintenance or space.