There are mainly two types of vortex tube – counterflow and uniflow. Many papers mention that energy separation in uniflow configuration is inferior to that in counterflow configuration. However, an in-depth analysis to find the reason behind this phenomenon is not found in the literature. In this paper experimental investigation is conducted for comparing energy separation in counterflow and uniflow vortex tubes for same geometrical and operating parameters. Also, 3-D CFD analysis is conducted to find the cause of difference in energy separation in these types of vortex tube. Flow field inside both tubes are analyzed and the rates of work and heat transferred between core region and peripheral region are calculated. Tangential shear work transfer from the core region to the peripheral region is identified as the reason of energy separation, while heat transfer from peripheral zone to axial zone reduces energy separation in both counterflow and uniflow vortex tubes. However, transfer of significantly greater sensible heat from peripheral region to core region in uniflow vortex tube causes more reduction of energy separation by decreasing the hot exit temperature and increasing the cold exit temperature.

涡流管主要有两种类型-逆流和单向流。许多论文提到单流配置中的能量分离比逆流配置中的能量分离差。但是，在文献中没有进行深入的分析以找到这种现象背后的原因。在本文中，进行了实验研究，以比较相同几何和工作参数下逆流和单向涡流管中的能量分离。同样，进行3-D CFD分析以找出这些类型涡流管中能量分离差异的原因。分析两个管内部的流场，并计算功率和核心区域与外围区域之间的热传递。从中心区域到外围区域的切向剪切功转移被认为是能量分离的原因，而从外围区域到轴向区域的热传递减少了逆流和单向涡流管中的能量分离。但是，显着更大的显热从单向涡流管中的外围区域传递到核心区域会通过降低热出口温度和增加冷出口温度来进一步减少能量分离。