Velocity slip and translational nonequilibrium of ternary gas mixtures in free jet expansions

An aerodynamic isotope separation technique based on the velocity slip between gases in a rarefied flow has been proposed. To evaluate the efficiency of this separation technique, the velocity and translational temperature of the individual species in binary and ternary gas mixtures of argon and neon in helium have been studied in a low density hypersonic free jet. The velocity and temperature of the gas were determined from the Doppler shift and broadening of the fluorescence excited by an electron beam. Velocity slip and translational nonequilibrium were observed over a range of source pressures. A separation factor based on the velocity slip and temperatures was also determined. A comparison of the velocity slip, temperatures, and separation factor with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation of the flow field is presented