Vortex Heat Generators

Vortex heat generators are installations that allow you to receive thermal energy in special devices by converting electrical energy.

History of the first swirl heat generators rooted in the first third of the twentieth century, when the French engineer Joseph Rank encountered an unexpected effect, exploring the properties of an artificially created vortex in the device he developed - a vortex tube. The essence of the observed effect was that at the exit of the vortex tube a separation of the compressed air flow into a warm and cold stream was observed.

Research in this area was continued by the German inventor Robert Hillsch, who in the forties of the last century improved the design of the Rank vortex tube, achieving an increase in the temperature difference of the two air flows at the outlet of the pipe. However, both Rank and Hilsch failed to theoretically substantiate the observed effect, which delayed its practical application for many decades. It should be noted that a more or less satisfactory theoretical explanation of the Rank-Hills effect from the point of view of classical aerodynamics has not yet been found.

One of the first scientists who came up with the idea to put liquid into the Rank’s pipe is the Russian scientist Alexander Merkulov, professor at the Kuybyshevsky (now Samara) State Aerospace University, who is credited with developing the foundations of the new theory. Created by Merkulov in the late 1950s, the Industrial Research Laboratory of Heat Engines and Refrigeration Machines carried out a huge amount of theoretical and experimental research on the vortex effect.

The idea to use not compressed air but water as a working fluid in a vortex tube was revolutionary, because water, unlike gas, is incompressible. Consequently, the effect of the separation of flows into cold and hot should not be expected. However, the results exceeded all expectations: when passing through the “cochlea”, the water quickly heated up (with an efficiency exceeding 100%).

The scientist found it difficult to explain the similar effectiveness of the process. According to some researchers, the abnormal increase in the temperature of the liquid is caused by microcavitation processes, namely the “collapse” of microcavities (bubbles) filled with gas or steam, which are formed during the rotation of water in a cyclone. The inability to explain such a high efficiency of the observed process from the point of view of traditional physics has led to the fact that the vortex heat energy has firmly established itself in the list of "pseudoscientific" directions.

Meanwhile, this principle was adopted, which led to the development of working models of heat and power generators that implement the principle described above. Currently, hundreds of vortex heat generators of various capacities produced by a number of domestic research and production enterprises are successfully operating in Russia, some republics of the former Soviet Union, and a number of foreign countries.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the vortex heat generator

Currently, industrial enterprises produce vortex heat generators of various designs.

Fig. 2. Vortex heat generator "MUST"

The Angstrem Tver Research and Development Enterprise has developed a converter of electrical energy into heat - vortex heat generator "MUST". The principle of its action is patented by R.I. Mustafayev (Pat. 2132517) and allows you to receive thermal energy directly from the water. The design does not have any heating elements, and only a pump that pumps water is powered by electricity.A block of fluid accelerators and a brake device are placed in the body of the vortex heat generator. It consists of several vortex tubes of a special design. The inventor claims that none of the devices designed for these purposes has a higher coefficient.

High efficiency is not the only advantage of the new converter. The developers consider it particularly promising to use their vortex heat generator at newly constructed, as well as objects remote from district heating. The MUST swirl heat generator can be mounted directly in the formed internal heating networks of objects, as well as in technological lines.

It is impossible not to say that the novelty is still more expensive than traditional boilers. Angstrem already offers its customers several MUST generators with capacities from 7.5 to 37 kW. They are able to heat rooms from 600 to 2200 square meters, respectively.

The electricity conversion ratio is 1.2, but can reach 1.5. In total, about one hundred MUST swirl heat generators operate in Russia. The produced models of MUST heat generators allow heating rooms up to 11,000 m3. The installation weight is from 70 to 450 kg. The thermal power of the MUST 5.5 installation is 7112 kcal / h, the thermal power of the MUST 37 installation is 47840 kcal / h. The heat carrier used in the MUST swirl heat generator can be water, antifreeze, polyglycol, or any other non-freezing liquid.

Fig. 3. Vortex heat generator "VTG"

VTG vortex heat generator It is a cylindrical body equipped with a cyclone (snail with tangential inlet) and a hydraulic braking device. The working fluid under pressure is supplied to the inlet of the cyclone, after which it passes through it in a complex path and is braked in the brake device. Additional pressure in the pipes of the heating network is not created. The system operates in a pulsed mode, providing a predetermined temperature mode.

Water or other non-aggressive liquids (antifreeze, antifreeze) are used as a heat carrier in VTG, depending on the climatic zone. The process of heating a liquid occurs due to its rotation according to certain physical laws, and not under the influence of a heating element.

The coefficient of conversion of electric energy into heat from the first generation VTG vortex heat generator was at least 1.2 (i.e., the KPI was at least 120%). In VTG, it is consumed only on an electric pump pumping water, and water releases additional thermal energy.

The installation works in automatic mode, taking into account the ambient temperature. The operating mode is controlled by reliable automation. Direct-flow heating of the liquid is possible (without a closed loop), for example, to produce hot water. Heating takes place in 1-2 hours, depending on the outdoor temperature and the volume of the heated room. The coefficient of conversion of electrical energy (KPI) into heat is much higher than 100%.

VTG vortex heat generators were tested at various research institutes, including the RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolev in 1994, at the Central Aerodynamic Institute (TsAGI) them. Zhukovsky in 1999. Tests have confirmed the high efficiency of the VTG vortex heat generator compared to other types of heaters (electric, gas, and also working on liquid and solid fuels). At the same heat output as that of traditional heating plants, cavitation vortex heat generating units consume less electricity.

The installation is characterized by the highest overall performance, easy to maintain and has a service life of more than 10 years. VTG vortex heat generator is distinguished by its small dimensions: the occupied area, depending on the type of heat generator, is 0.5-4 sq.m. At the request of the customer, it is possible to manufacture a generator for operation in aggressive environments. Vortex heat generators of various capacities are also produced by other enterprises.