MEPhI scientists for the first time in the world have deduced a formula, describing separative power of concurrent centrifuge for a binary mixture, which will raise the efficiency of created devices.

Russian leadership in world production of cheap enriched uranium for nuclear power stations is based on technologies, the development of which started in the middle of the XX century. Modern gas centrifuge method for uranium enrichment requires 50 times less energy than previously used gaseous diffusion. Currently Russian fuel uranium costs several times less than American one. However, scientists claim, that to save the leadership it is necessary to constantly develop technologies. Uranium isotope separation in strong centrifugal fields is the basis for centrifuge enrichment. It is important for scientists to define the dependence of appropriate separation power from parametres of centrifuge and gas, used in it. In other words, specialists need to understand, how the efficiency of isotopic mixture diffusion will change after changing of the centrifuge parametres – the speed of the rotor spinning, its length, diameter, etc.

A group of scientists from MEPhI Department of molecular physics has deduced a formula, describing separative power of concurrent centrifuge for a binary mixture, which will raise the efficiency of created devices. Here a simplified model is meant – concurrent centrifuge, characterized by simplicity of the gas flow (the gas flows in from one side and flows out from the other).

Up to the present moment scientists have known only published experimental information, obtained from countercurrent gas centrifuges with the length of about 0,5 m. They couldn’t find theoretical explanation for the results of famous experiments. Moreover, the results were contradictory to theoretical explanations. The formula for simple concurrent centrifuge of random length and random binary mixture allows specialists understand, which measures to take, so that the developed devices were maximally effective, said MEPhI Department of molecular physics Professor Sergey Bogovalov.

According to him, the formula is applicable for natural-gas stripping from admixtures in centrifugal fields with large volumes of the pumped gas. The results of work were published in a leading scientific edition Nuclear Engineering and Technology.

”We understood that the separative power grows as the speed to the second, not to the fourth power, which follows common observations. The formula advices us on how to influence the construction to change this dependence”, scientist said.

He added that the obtained formula is coherent with published experimental data for countercurrent centrifuges.

“This is most surprising because the character of the gas flow in concurrent and countercurrent centrifuges is absolutely different. Now we are trying to find out why the formula is so coherent with the experiment. Moreover, we are not sure yet if it is a universal formula. The question is being studied now,” Sergey Bogovalov said.