Simulation of the heat exchange between the supersonic flow and the stationary body in a gas centrifuge

Abstract

We have made comparative calculations of the heat exchange in the subpersonic flow of gaseous UF6 around the stationary cylindrical body inside the rotating rotor of the gas centrifuge. It has been revealed that the integral heat flux from the gas to the body calculated with the use of the ANSYS-CFX program complex from the viewpoint of the continuum model is much smaller than the heat flow calculated by the Monte Carlo method of direct statistical simulation. Estimates show that under the conditions being considered the boundary layer on the surface of the body has no time to be formed and has a thickness of the order of the mean free path of the gas molecules and, therefore, the use of the methods of continuum mechanics in this region is incorrect. On the contrary, the method of direct statistical simulation permits taking into account the interaction of gas molecules directly with the surface of the streamline body and obtaining more correct results. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.