Design and optimization of a tapered cascade for the separation of a multi-component mixture by consideration of the hydraulic and operational parameters of the gas centrifuge machine

In the design of tapered cascades, due to hydrodynamic problems, not every cascade can be operated. This paper describes the method of designing and optimizing a tapered cascade for the separation of stable multi-component mixtures by considering the operational parameters of the gas centrifuge machine. In this method, the hydraulic specifications and separation of the centrifuge machine are determined in the first stage. Then, using this information and optimization algorithms, the optimal cascade is designed with the least number of centrifugal machines. This paper uses the grey wolf optimization algorithm to find the optimal cascade. The cascade operation is checked using the hydraulic parameters of the gas centrifuge,. The operational limitation of the cascade is added hydraulically to the fitness function in optimization. To determine the hydraulic characteristics of the gas centrifuge, a transient simulation of the gas centrifuge hydrodynamic is presented and the relationship between product and waste pressure lines, feed flow, and cut is determined. Using the proposed design method, an operational cascade is designed using a TC-12 centrifuge machine to separate the uranium 235 isotope from the reprocessed fuel to a 4% enrichment. And the pressure variation in the cascade is presented.