ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR A RANQUE-HILSCH VORTEX TUBE IN A LOCAL COOLING SYSTEM OF AN AUTOMOTIVE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT

The paper considers the use of a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube for the local cooling of the engine control unit of a mass-produced passenger car with a gasoline engine. A brief review of the theoretical models of gas energy separation is given, and the choice of a semi-empirical engineering model for practical design is justified. A procedure is presented for calculating the geometric and operating parameters of a vortex cooler from a specified cooling capacity and available pressure. A complete numerical example is given for a Kia Rio car with a 1.6 L engine. The dimensions and air flow rate of the device are obtained, the influence of humidity is assessed, and the energy efficiency is compared with the vapor-compression cycle.