3-D numerical simulations of the feed jet flow in a gas centrifuge

The feed jet flow in a gas centrifuge was investigated using the finite volume method with a second order upwind implicit scheme to solve the 3-D Navier-Stokes equations. The 3-D distribution of the feed jet flow field was obtained for different feed pressures. The numerical simulations show that the influence of the feed jet on the flow field inside the gas centrifuge becomes stronger with increasing feed pressure. A Mach disk appears at the dimensionless radius of 0.81 when the feed pressure is 3 kPa. Since the feed jet flow structure is quite complex due to the strongly rotating flow, there is a rather large difference between the actual feed flow and the simple uniform feed assumption. Therefore, the boundary conditions in counter-current calculations based on feed jet flow simulation results need to be modeled to more accurately evaluate the separation performance of gas centrifuges.