Performance Analysis of Vortex Tube Refrigeration System by Employing Thermoelectric Module

Abstract

newlineA vortex tube is a system that induces cooling at one end and heating at the other end by pumping heat from a low to a high temperature without the use of any moving parts. This study shows the parametric evaluation of a counter flow vortex tube with a thermoelectric module using a series of experiments in which the control valve location was varied for a pressure range of 0.5 to 3 bar. The control valve is a 1/4 NPT threaded screw located at the hot end that is used to limit the flow of air, causing a small forced vortex to form after the stagnation point and free vortex to escape through the hot end as hot air. A small orifice plate is situated at the opposite end to further minimize the temperature drop. Low pressures are experimented with using a 2.5 HP compressor. Even, with a low-capacity compressor, getting reliable results at higher pressures is difficult. A model has been developed to predict the results for the pressure range of 3.5 to 6 bar using experimental data with Artificial Neural Network (ANN). MATLAB 2015a is used for designing ANN with Windows 7 operating system and Intel 3i processor. The first chapter deals with introduction to vortex tube and its different components used in the experimental setup. It also gives the details of phenomenon of energy transfer in vortex tube with its advantages, applications and the objectives of the project. Second chapter is concerned with the review of the literature. A detailed literature survey is done and it ascertains that very less quantum of work is done on parametric analysis with modeling and simulation of vortex tube refrigeration system. Therefore, an experimental, modeling and simulation and parametric analysis of counter flow vortex tube is done and presented here. The third chapter is concerned with the experimental setup used in this study.