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Flow in a centrifugal spectrometer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

A. A. Dahlkild
Affiliation:
Department of Gasdynamics. Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
G. Amberg
Affiliation:
Department of Hydrodynamics. Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
H. P. Greenspan
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mathematics, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Abstract

Rotational flow through narrow axial channels is considered in connection with a proposed technique to sort and separate particles according to sedimentation velocities. Nonlinear and linear axisymmetric flow through two channels connected by a slot in the vertical wall is studied numerically. A linearized formulation for the three-dimensional flow through a circumferentially blocked channel, with arbitrary positioning of the inlets and outlets, is examined analytically. Both approaches indicate that to have a sharp criteria for fractionation, the vertical shear layers on the channel walls must overlap. Otherwise, Coriolis effects, accompanying a strong azimuthal motion, make the sorting less precise. Results of an exploratory experiment with a simple two-stage machine demonstrate the feasibility of the basic process for simultaneous and continuous separation and fractionation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1992 Cambridge University Press

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