What is a Vortex?
Air that rotates around an axis (like a tornado) is called a vortex.
What is a Vortex Tube?
A vortex tube creates cold air and hot air by forcing compressed air through a generation chamber, which spins the air at a high rate of speed (1,000,000 rpm) into a vortex. The high-speed air heats up as it spins along the inner walls of the tube toward the control valve.
A percentage of the hot, high-speed air is permitted to exit at the valve. The remainder of the (now slower) air stream is forced to counterflow up through the center of the high-speed air stream in a second vortex. The slower-moving air gives up energy in the form of heat and becomes cooled as it spins up the tube.
The inside counterflow vortex exits the opposite end as extremely cold air. Vortex tubes generate temperatures as much as 100â (56â) below the inlet air temperature. The fraction of hot air exhausted can be varied to change the outlet cold air temperature, with more exhaust resulting in a colder cold air stream (with lower flow rate), and less exhaust resulting in a warmer cold air stream (and higher flow rate).
The Benefits & Uses
Vortex tubes are the main technology behind several of Vortecâs products including cold air guns, enclosure coolers, cooling vests, and our vortex tubes. Using vortex tubes to cool can have several benefits including the following:
Lower costs
Reliable and low maintenance
LightweightÂ
No moving parts
Instantaneous heating and cooling
No explosion risk
Wide range of adjustable temperatures
To learn more about âVortex Tube Technology, try our Vortex Tube Short Course:
Vortex Tube Short Course
- What are the benefits of the Vortec Cooling Vest?
- How does the Cooling Vest work?
- How is the Vortec Cooling Vest used?
- Common applications of the Cooling Vest
- A Vortec customer's use case of the Vortec Cooling Vest
- Any maintenance requirements
VORTEC COOLING VEST
BENEFITS & USES
Workers in extreme temperatures wear Vortec Cooling Vests to minimize heat stress and fatigue while improving comfort and productivity. Cold Air circulates through the Cooling Vest to distribute even cooling over the upper body.Â
Vest can be worn under other protective clothing (PPE)
Easy temperature adjustment even with gloved hands
Provides continuous, consistent air delivery
Vest allows for full range of motion with no airflow restrictionsÂ