Cooling under difficult circumstances
Traditionally filter-fans and air conditioners are used to cool enclosures. However in aggressive and/or dusty environments, or situations where the ambient temperature is in excess of 30°C, filter-fans are no longer effective. When the ambient temperature exceeds 55°C air conditioners also loose their ability to cool. Eldon has recently launched a range of Vortex Coolers, that are specifically designed to cope with aggressive and dusty environments, or when the ambient temperature exceeds 55°C.
Vortex coolers have the added advantage of having no moving parts (thereby being maintenance free), are quick and easy to install, and are incredibly small compared to a traditional air conditioning unit of a comparable capacity.
The Vortex cooler cools air, reduces humidity (preventing condensation), and keeps the enclosure free of dust or aggressive vapours by keeping the enclosure slightly over-pressurized.
This product is ideal for critical or high risk processes, where systems failures are either dangerous, costly or both. Vortex coolers are available in aluminium, stainless steel (NEMA 4X), and a special high temperature (HT) version, and can cool up to 820W.
The vortex tube, also known as the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, is a heat pump with no moving parts. Pressurized gas is injected into a specially designed chamber. The chamber's internal shape, combined with the pressure, accelerates the gas to a high rate of rotation (over 1,000,000 rpm). The gas is split into two streams, one giving kinetic energy to the other, and resulting in separate flows of hot and cold gases. The temperature typically drops 28 degrees centigrade in most industrial applications, but depending on the setting of the Vortex tube. Special High Temperature units are set to drop the temperature of the air 48 degrees centigrade. By cooling down the air the humidity is also transferred to the outer vortex and leaves the exhaust with the warm air fraction. The cold air can be entered in general or guided to a hot spot with a tube.
Typical applications for Vortex coolers are:
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Glass or steel manufacturing (high surrounding temperature);
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Paper mills;
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Petrochemical plants;
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Pharmaceutical plants;
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NC/CNC systems;
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CCTV cameras;
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Computer or laser systems enclosures
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Electronic weighing systems
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or any other application that requires compressed air to function.
Eldon Vortex coolers are UL approved. This product is also suitable for ATEX applications (on request). For more information please see page 341 of Eldon Enclosures Systems General Catalogue November 2006, or visit www.eldon.com.
Pieter Dekker
Product Manager Floor Standing Enclosures
Eldon Group
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