Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube Cooler (Maxwell's Demon)
Print Profile(1)
Description
The Basics:
This print is a Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube (RHVT) cooler or Maxwell Demon's tube, a remarkably simple device that mysteriously separates compressed air into hot and cold streams without any moving parts or electricity. The physics of this phenomena have been a long-running subject of scientific investigation and remain unsettled to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_tube
Default Print Setup:
- 0.2mm nozzle preferred for flow dynamics and accurate threads
- All tolerances are setup for Bambu Labs PETG Basic
The Minutia:
The design being shared is modular to allow interchanging of internal components for optimal nozzle, vortex and tube diameter geometries.
Various vortex generator nozzles and hot pipe divergers with part numbers are included for the user to experiment with.
Recommended starting configuration is:
Vortex Generator: RF1006-00D-0909
Hot Tube Diverger: RF10-15D
Hot Tube Throttle Valve: Close fully and unscrew ~3.5x turns
Once assembled per the diagram below, simply inject compressed air via the ¼" NPT inlet and appreciate the almost instantaneous separation of hot and cold air from the ends of the device. Feel free to experiment with the included generators, divergers and throttle valve settings to optimise cold vs. hot air fraction for a given inlet air pressure.
Notes:
- Vortex Generators and Hot Tube Divergers are denoted with LF and RF to indicate “low flow” and “regular flow” and are intended to be paired together.
- RHVT's are capable of generating extremely hot and cold temperatures (-50°C to 200°C) far beyond the capability of regularly used materials so brittle and melting failures are quite possible depending on how you configure the device and the duration of use.
- Due to the many factors affecting print strength, it is left to the end user to assess what air pressure can be safely used without compromising the device. I have routinely used pressures up to 60psi on PETG Basic without any failure.
License
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