AERODYNAMIC SEPARATION OF GASES BY VELOCITY SLIP IN FREEJET EXPANSIONS

An aerodynamic isotope separation technique based on the velocity slip between gases in a rarefied flow has been proposed. To evaluate this separation method, the velocity and translational temperature of the individual species in binary and ternary gas mixtures of argon and neon in helium have been studied in a low-density hypersonic freejet. The velocity and translational temperature of the gases were determined from the Doppler shift and broadening of the fluorescence excited by an electron beam. Monte Carlo simulation of the flowfield was also used to predict species velocity and temperature. Idealized separation factors a, calculated from both the experimental and theoretical results, exceeded the diffusive separation factor (α =1.4) for an argon-neon mixture. A maximum separation factor (α = 2.1) was obtained from the measured gas properties. © 1979 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.