Desenvolvimento, fabricação e testes de tubos de vórtice de baixo custo

Abstract

The search for alternative cooling systems has become the target of study for several researchers, because conventional systems contribute to the greenhouse effect and ozone layer’s depletion. Vortex tubes are generally used for low cost local refrigeration, where there is compressed air available. They have no moving parts, and do not use direct electricity. Their maintenance costs are also very low. In this work, two vortex tubes were designed, constructed and tested. The first used materials like PVC and nylon and the second had a vortex chamber made of polymer, manufactured by rapid prototyping. In the performance analysis the energy and mass conservation equations were used to determine the cold mass fraction. The measurements included the volumetric flow rate, pressure, temperature and relative humidity of the air flow. The results showed that temperatures around 8,6ºC were measured at the tube outlet, at 6,1 bar pressure in the tube inlet, confirming the operation of the prototype.