EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN RANQUE HILSCH VORTEX TUBE.

The aim of this work was to experimentally investigate the heat and mass transfer phenomenon in a Ranque Hilsch vortex tube. Experiments in a laboratory scale experimental setup were carried out to generate process data involving parameters such as inlet and outlet volumetric flow rate, temperature and pressure of gas mixture at the inlet and outlet of the Ranque Hilsch vortex tube. Air, considered as a binary mixture of Nitrogen and Oxygen gas was used as working fluid. Gas temperature and composition at inlet, cold outlet and hot outlet were measured. Further the isentropic efficiency and separation factor of the lighter species for a binary separation were calculated. It was observed while isentropic efficiency increased continuously with inlet Reynolds number there was an optimum value of inlet Reynolds number for which maximum separation factor was obtained. Also it was found that thermal and species separations in Ranque Hilsch vortex tube were interrelated.