Uranium Centrifuge Cascade Simulator 

This calculator will create an idealized Uranium Centrifuge Cascade from values entered by the user. A Uranium Centrifuge cascade consists of a number of centrifuges arranged in series and in parallel. A typical cascade will consist of two sections: 1) The Enrichment section which is designed to increase (enrich) the concentration of Uranium 235, in stages, to a final concentration and 2) The Stripping section which is designed to "strip", or remove, Uranium 235 from the waste products of the enriching section. The user may specify the following variables when creating a cascade:

1) Np : The desired final percentage of Uranium 235 in the Product from the Enriching Section.

2) Nw : The desired final percentage of Uranium 235 in the Waste (also called "tails") from the Stripping section.

3) Nf : The initial percentage of Uranium 235 in the Feed to the cascade. In natural Uranium this percentage is about .71% .

4) P : The Product rate in multiples of 1576.8 kg/yr (the single-machine throughput).

This simulator assumes that the centrifuges are of the Countercurrent type, are 250 centimeters long, have radii of 25 cm, rotate at a peripheral speed of 600 meters per second, have a throughput (Feed and Waste+Product takeoff) of .0001 kilograms per second, that the cut theta is .5, that the average temperature of the centrifuge is 320 degrees Kelvin, that the optimized separation factor has a value of 1.46, that the separative power per centrifuge is approximately 38 kgSWU per year, and we assume that Nf<<1. Also note that since each machine is assumed to have a throughput of .1g/s, the minimum yearly product rate will be 1576.8 kg/year with only one machine in the last enriching stage. 

Home > Programs > Strategic Security > Nuclear Information Project > Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle