Ru-Ching Chen with Yasuhiro Kamotani (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
Characterization of Gas-Liquid Interfaces in Passive Cyclonic Separators
Two-phase flows and their separation is an important research topic as many spacecraft require such functionality to remain operational. These systems are not required on earth due to the existence of buoyancy. Cyclonic separators function by rotating the multiphase fluid, using the apparent centrifugal force to cause gas to gather near the center axis of the rotation while the liquid is pushed towards the outside walls. Passive cyclonic separators accomplish this task using only the force from the ow. Modications external modications were made to the passive cyclonic separator in order to accommodate video recording via a high-speed camera. Certain dimensions of components interacting with the gas were varied and separator characteristics were measured.