UN-CONVENTIONAL REFRIGERATION METHODS

The Vortex Tube.

Steam jet Refrigeration System.

Magnetic refrigeration (Cryogenics).

Thermoelectric refrigeration.

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 vortex Tube Refrigeration System

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• It consists of nozzle, diaphragm, valve, hot-air side,
cold-air side
• An efficient nozzle is designed to have higher
velocity, greater mass flow and minimum inlet losses
• Chamber is a portion of nozzle and facilities the
tangential entry of high velocity air-stream into hot
side
• Generally the chambers are gradually converted into
spiral form

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• Hot side is cylindrical in cross section and
is of different lengths as per design
• Valve obstructs the flow of air through hot
side and it also controls the quantity of hot
air through vortex tube.
• Diaphragm is a cylindrical piece of small
thickness and having a small hole of
specific diameter at the center
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working
• Compressed air is passed through the
nozzle
• air expands and acquires high velocity due
to particular shape of the nozzle
• vortex flow is created in the chamber and
air travels in spiral like motion along the
periphery of the hot side
• This flow is restricted by the valve.
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• When the pressure of the air near valve is made
more than outside by partly closing the valve, a
reversed axial flow through the core of the hot
side starts from high-pressure region to low-
pressure region.
• During this process, heat transfer takes place
between reversed stream and forward stream
• air stream through the core gets cooled below
the inlet temperature of the air in the vortex tube

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• while air stream in forward direction gets
heated up
• The cold stream is escaped through the
diaphragm hole into the cold side
• hot stream is passed through the opening
of the valve

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Advantages
• There are no moving parts.
• No leakage problem as it uses only air.
• Light in weight.
• Requires less space.
• Initial cost is low.
• No expertise attendance is required.
• The device is commendable because of its
extreme simplicity.
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Disadvantages
In large scale cooling It is not able to
compete with other systems.
(Limited capacity)
Low COP.
(The typical COP are 0.10 To 0.15.)

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 MAGNETIC REFRIGERATION

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• Those substance which are repelled by
magnetic field is called diamagnetic
• Those attracted by magnetic pole is called
paramagnetic
• Some salts (ex: Gadolinium Sulphate ) are
precooled to a very low temperature
• So that the thermal motion of molecules will
be minimum
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• When not magnetised, the molecules are
oriented in a random manner such that the
magnetic forces are in balance
• When magnetic field is applied the molecules
are aligned themselves in the direction of
magnetic field
• When magnetic field is removed the molecules
readjust their positions to the original position

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• Such readjustment requires that the salt
perform work
• In the absence of external heat exchange, the
internal energy of salt decreases.
• Consequently the salt must cool itself

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STEPS INVOLVED IN COOLING

The paramagnetic salt is surrounded

with liquid helium
boiling under reduced pressure.

The salt gets cooled to about 0.8K.

Now a strong magnetic field about 25000

gauss is applied.
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 MAGNETIC
REFRIGERATION

The heat produced by the

magnetization of salt
is transferred
to the liquid helium

with out change in salt temperature.

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The inner chamber is evacuated of gaseous
helium
and the substance is thermally isolated
at a temperature below 1K under the
stress of a strong magnetic field.

When the magnetic field is released , the salt

temperature decreases in an almost
perfectly isentropic way.
The temperature of salt as low as
0.001K may be attained.
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