Experimental investigation of effects of the feed flow rate and “tail scoop-wall” clearance on the performance of a gas centrifuge by feeding a Freon mixture

Abstract

ABSTRACTExperimental study of the performance of a gas centrifuge can be appreciably simplified if instead of isotopic mixtures, a binary mixture of gases with large molecular weight difference is used. The current study undertook this approach by injecting a 53%–47% (w/w) mixture of “Freon12-Freon22” into a gas centrifuge. The two parameters, whose investigation was the objective of the current study were: the feed flow rate (F), and the clearance between tail scoop and the rotor wall (d). The results demonstrated that changing the scoop-wall clearance has the most significant effect on the cut (θ), so that by fixing “d”, “θ” becomes nearly invariant. The head separation factor (α) exhibited the same dependency, but it was more influenced by the “F” than the “d”. Apparently the following regression exists between the inspected parameters:Decreasing “d” → Decreasing “θ” → Increasing “α”.Variations of the tail separation factor (β) with “F” or “d” was quite slight, even though similar to “α”, it was lowered with increasing of the “F”. The separation capacity (δU) as the most significant parameter of a centrifuge was optimised at the highest value of “F = 40.5 g/h”, and lowest value of “d = 3 mm”. The study achieved a separation capacity and an overall separation factor equal to 195.53 kg Freon/y and 16.87, respectively. These values are several times larger than those of the isotopic mixtures, demonstrating that application of Freons is a useful mean for magnifying the features of a gas centrifuge.