Visualization of Dispersed Phase Flow in Centrifugal Extractor Using Taylor-Couette Vortex Flow

For studying the designs and running operations of an extractor which uses Taylor-Couette vortex flow, we focused on a metal extraction system as one of the extraction models of heat generating nuclides and observed the flow patterns of dispersed phase by dyeing the phase in the extractor, and we investigated the effects of hydrophobic coating applied to the inner cylinder surface on the flow characteristics. Moreover, for the quantitative measurement and analysis of the flow field, we evaluated the applicability of Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler (UVP) to flow field measurement. Thorough these visualization methods of dispersed phase in a centrifugal extractor using Taylor-Couette vortex flow, we examined the relation between flow field and extraction characteristics of the extractor.Copyright © 2011 by ASME