Onsager's pancake approximation for the fluid dynamics of a gas centrifuge

Abstract

A previously unpublished theory for describing the internal flow in a gas centrifuge is presented. The theory is based on boundary-layer-type arguments on the side walls of the centrifuge with the additional approximation of neglecting radial diffusion of radial momentum. The effects of the top and bottom end caps are incorporated through Ekman-layer solutions. The results are presented in a form amenable to numerical calculations.Some sample calculations are presented for the special case of a centrifuge with a linear temperature profile on the wall and the top and bottom of the centrifuge at the same temperature as the corresponding end of the side wall.