A Kind of Refrigerant System Design Combined with Knudsen Compressor and Vortex Tube

Abstract

Based on the boost characteristics of the Knudsen compressor and the cooling effect of the vortex tube, a novel refrigeration system combining the Knudsen compressors with the vortex tubes is proposed. The system can be driven by low-grade residual/waste heat and has no moving parts. Then the concrete stucture of the novel refrigeration system is design for cooling a 50 m2 central control room that needs 19, 194KWh of cooling energy per year. The calculated results show the proposed refrigeration system can save 11, 132.52 yuan per year. Moreover, the novel system is flexible to meet different cooling requirements by altering the arrangement of the Knudsen compressors and the vortex tubes.