Centrifuge
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A centrifuge is a device that uses
centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...
to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or liquids from solids. It works by causing denser substances and particles to move outward in the radial direction. At the same time, objects that are less dense are displaced and moved to the centre. In a laboratory centrifuge that uses sample tubes, the radial acceleration causes denser particles to settle to the bottom of the tube, while low-density substances rise to the top. A centrifuge can be a very effective filter that separates contaminants from the main body of fluid. Industrial scale centrifuges are commonly used in manufacturing and waste processing to sediment suspended solids, or to separate immiscible liquids. An example is the
cream separator A separator is a centrifugal device that separates milk into cream and skimmed milk. Separation was commonly performed on farms in the past. Most farmers milked a few cows, usually by hand, and separated milk. Some of the skimmed milk was consum ...
found in
dairies A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
. Very high speed centrifuges and
ultracentrifuges An ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as (approx. ). There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge. Both cla ...
able to provide very high accelerations can separate fine particles down to the nano-scale, and molecules of different masses. Large centrifuges are used to simulate high gravity or acceleration environments (for example, high-G training for test pilots). Medium-sized centrifuges are used in
washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...
s and at some
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
s to draw water out of fabrics.
Gas centrifuge A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centrifugal force accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are physically separated in a gradient along the radiu ...
s are used for
isotope separation Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes. The use of the nuclides produced is varied. The largest variety is used in research (e.g. in chemistry where atoms of "marker" n ...
, such as to enrich nuclear fuel for
fissile isotope In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material capable of sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction. By definition, fissile material can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of thermal energy. The predominant neutron energy may be ty ...
s.


History

English military engineer
Benjamin Robins Benjamin Robins (170729 July 1751) was a pioneering British scientist, Newtonian mathematician, and military engineer. He wrote an influential treatise on gunnery, for the first time introducing Newtonian science to military men, was an early en ...
(1707–1751) invented a whirling arm apparatus to determine drag. In 1864, Antonin Prandtl proposed the idea of a dairy centrifuge to separate cream from milk. The idea was subsequently put into practice by his brother, Alexander Prandtl, who made improvements to his brother's design, and exhibited a working butterfat extraction machine in 1875.


Types

A centrifuge machine can be described as a machine with a rapidly rotating container that applies centrifugal force to its contents. There are multiple types of centrifuge, which can be classified by intended use or by rotor design: Types by rotor design: * Fixed-angle centrifuges are designed to hold the sample containers at a constant angle relative to the central axis. * Swinging head (or swinging bucket) centrifuges, in contrast to fixed-angle centrifuges, have a hinge where the sample containers are attached to the central rotor. This allows all of the samples to swing outwards as the centrifuge is spun. * Continuous tubular centrifuges do not have individual sample vessels and are used for high volume applications. Types by intended use: *
Laboratory centrifuge A laboratory centrifuge is a piece of laboratory equipment, driven by a motor, which spins liquid samples at high speed. There are various types of centrifuges, depending on the size and the sample capacity.Susan R. Mikkelsen & Eduardo Cortón. ...
s, are general-purpose instruments of several types with distinct, but overlapping, capabilities. These include clinical centrifuges, superspeed centrifuges and preparative ultracentrifuges. * Analytical ultracentrifuges are designed to perform sedimentation analysis of macromolecules using the principles devised by
Theodor Svedberg Theodor Svedberg (30 August 1884 – 25 February 1971) was a Swedish chemist and Nobel laureate for his research on colloids and proteins using the ultracentrifuge. Svedberg was active at Uppsala University from the mid 1900s to late 1940s. Wh ...
. *
Haematocrit The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is nor ...
centrifuges are used to measure the volume percentage of red blood cells in whole blood. *
Gas centrifuge A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centrifugal force accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are physically separated in a gradient along the radiu ...
s, including
Zippe-type centrifuge The Zippe-type centrifuge is a gas centrifuge designed to enrich the rare fissile isotope uranium-235 (235U) from the mixture of isotopes found in naturally occurring uranium compounds. The isotopic separation is based on the slight difference in ...
s, for isotopic separations in the gas phase. Industrial centrifuges may otherwise be classified according to the type of separation of the high density fraction from the low density one. Generally, there are two types of centrifuges: the filtration and sedimentation centrifuges. For the filtration or the so-called screen centrifuge the drum is perforated and is inserted with a filter, for example a filter cloth, wire mesh or lot screen. The suspension flows through the filter and the drum with the perforated wall from the inside to the outside. In this way the solid material is restrained and can be removed. The kind of removing depends on the type of centrifuge, for example manually or periodically. Common types are: * Screen/scroll centrifuges (Screen centrifuges, where the centrifugal acceleration allows the liquid to pass through a
screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...
of some sort, through which the solids cannot go (due to granulometry larger than the screen gap or due to agglomeration)) *
Pusher centrifuge A pusher centrifuge is a type of filtration technique that offers continuous operation to de-water and wash materials such as relatively in-compressible feed solids, free-draining crystalline, polymers and fibrous substances. It consists of a con ...
s *
Peeler centrifuge The peeler centrifuge is a device that performs by rotating filtration basket in an axis. A centrifuge follows on the principle of centrifugal force to separate solids from liquids by density difference. High rotation speed provides high centrifug ...
s * Inverting filter centrifuges * Sliding discharge centrifuges * Pendulum centrifuges * Sedimentation centrifuges In the centrifuges the drum is a solid wall (not perforated). This type of centrifuge is used for the purification of a suspension. For the acceleration of the natural deposition process of suspension the centrifuges use centrifugal force. With so-called overflow centrifuges the suspension is drained off and the liquid is added constantly. Common types are: * Separator centrifuges (Continuous liquid); common types are: **
Solid bowl centrifuge A solid bowl centrifuge is a type of centrifuge that uses the principle of sedimentation. A centrifuge is used to separate a mixture that consists of two substances with different densities by using the centrifugal force resulting from continuous ro ...
s **
Conical plate centrifuge A conical plate centrifuge (also known as a disc bowl centrifuge or disc stack separator) is a type of centrifuge that has a series of conical discs which provides a parallel configuration of centrifugation spaces. The conical plate centrifuge ...
s * Tubular centrifuges *
Decanter centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that employs a high rotational speed to separate components of different densities. This becomes relevant in the majority of industrial jobs where solids, liquids and gases are merged into a single mixture and the separation ...
s, in which there is no physical separation between the solid and liquid phase, rather an accelerated
settling Settling is the process by which particulates move towards the bottom of a liquid and form a sediment. Particles that experience a force, either due to gravity or due to centrifugal motion will tend to move in a uniform manner in the direction e ...
due to centrifugal acceleration. Though most modern centrifuges are electrically powered, a hand-powered variant inspired by the
whirligig A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one part that spins or whirls. It can also be a pinwheel, spinning top, buzzer, comic weathervane, gee-haw, spinner, whirlygig, whirlijig, whirlyjig, whirlybird, or simply a whirly ...
has been developed for medical applications in developing countries. Many designs have been shared for free and open-source centrifuges that can be digitally manufactured. The open-source hardware designs for hand-powered centrifuge for larger volumes of fluids with a radial velocity of over 1750 rpm and over 50 N of relative centrifugal force can be completely 3-D printed for about $25. Other open hardware designs use custom 3-D printed fixtures with inexpensive electric motors to make low-cost centrifuges (e.g. the Dremelfuge that uses a
Dremel Dremel ( ) is a multinational brand of power tools, focusing on home improvement and hobby applications. Dremel is known primarily for its rotary tools such as the Dremel 3000, 4000 and 8200 series which are similar to the pneumatic die grinder ...
power tool) or
CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...
cut out OpenFuge.


Uses


Laboratory separations

A wide variety of laboratory-scale centrifuges are used in chemistry, biology, biochemistry and
clinical medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
for isolating and separating suspensions and immiscible liquids. They vary widely in speed, capacity, temperature control, and other characteristics. Laboratory centrifuges often can accept a range of different fixed-angle and swinging bucket rotors able to carry different numbers of centrifuge tubes and rated for specific maximum speeds. Controls vary from simple electrical timers to programmable models able to control acceleration and deceleration rates, running speeds, and temperature regimes. Ultracentrifuges spin the rotors under vacuum, eliminating air resistance and enabling exact temperature control.
Zonal rotor Zonal can refer to: * Zonal and meridional Zonal and meridional flow are directions and regions of fluid flow on a globe. Zonal flow follows a pattern along latitudinal lines, latitudinal circles or in the west–east direction. Meridional ...
s and continuous flow systems are capable of handing bulk and larger sample volumes, respectively, in a laboratory-scale instrument. Another application in laboratories is blood separation. Blood separates into cells and proteins (RBC, WBC, platelets, etc.) and serum. DNA preparation is another common application for pharmacogenetics and clinical diagnosis. DNA samples are purified and the DNA is prepped for separation by adding buffers and then centrifuging it for a certain amount of time. The blood waste is then removed and another buffer is added and spun inside the centrifuge again. Once the blood waste is removed and another buffer is added the pellet can be suspended and cooled. Proteins can then be removed and the entire thing can be centrifuged again and the DNA can be isolated completely. Specialized
cytocentrifuge A cytocentrifuge, sometimes referred to as a cytospin, is a specialized centrifuge used to concentrate cells in fluid specimens onto a microscope slide so that they can be stained and examined. Cytocentrifuges are used in various areas of the cli ...
s are used in medical and biological laboratories to concentrate cells for microscopic examination.


Isotope separation

Other centrifuges, the first being the
Zippe-type centrifuge The Zippe-type centrifuge is a gas centrifuge designed to enrich the rare fissile isotope uranium-235 (235U) from the mixture of isotopes found in naturally occurring uranium compounds. The isotopic separation is based on the slight difference in ...
, separate
isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...
s, and these kinds of centrifuges are in use in
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
and
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
programs.


Aeronautics and astronautics

Human centrifuges are exceptionally large centrifuges that test the reactions and tolerance of
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s to acceleration above those experienced in the Earth's
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
. The first centrifuges used for human research were used by Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin. The first large-scale human centrifuge designed for Aeronautical training was created in Germany in 1933. The
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
at Brooks City Base, Texas operates a human centrifuge while awaiting completion of the new human centrifuge in construction at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The centrifuge at Brooks City Base is operated by the
United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine The United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) is the United States Air Force (USAF) organization focused on education, research, and operational consultation in aerospace and operational medicine. USAFSAM was founded in 1918 t ...
for the purpose of training and evaluating prospective fighter pilots for high-''g'' flight in Air Force fighter aircraft. The use of large centrifuges to simulate a feeling of
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
has been proposed for future long-duration space missions. Exposure to this
simulated gravity Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of re ...
would prevent or reduce the
bone decalcification Bone decalcification is the softening of bones due to the removal of calcium ions, and can be performed as a histological technique to study bones and extract DNA. This process also occurs naturally during bone development and growth, and when uninh ...
and muscle atrophy that affect individuals exposed to long periods of freefall. Non-Human centrifuge At the European Space Agency (ESA) technology center ESTEC (in Noordwijk, the Netherlands) an 8-meter diameter centrifuge is used to expose samples in both fields of Life Sciences as well as Physical Sciences. This Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) began operation in 2007. Samples can be exposed to a maximum of 20 times Earth's gravity. With its four arms and six freely swinging out gondolas it is possible to expose samples with different g-levels at the same time. Gondolas can be fixed at eight different positions. Depending on their locations one could e.g. run an experiment at 5 and 10g in the same run. Each gondola can hold an experiment of a maximum 80  kg. Experiments performed in this facility ranged from zebra fish, metal alloys, plasma, cells, liquids, Planaria, Drosophila or plants.


Industrial centrifugal separator

Industrial centrifugal separator is a coolant filtration system for separating particles from liquid like, grinding machining coolant. It is usually used for non-ferrous particles separation such as, silicon, glass, ceramic, and graphite etc. The filtering process does not require any consumption parts like filter bags, which saves the earth from harm.


Geotechnical centrifuge modeling

Geotechnical centrifuge modeling Geotechnical centrifuge modeling is a technique for testing physical scale models of geotechnical engineering systems such as natural and man-made slopes and earth retaining structures and building or bridge foundations. The scale model is typi ...
is used for physical testing of models involving soils. Centrifuge acceleration is applied to scale models to scale the gravitational acceleration and enable prototype scale stresses to be obtained in scale models. Problems such as building and bridge foundations, earth dams, tunnels, and slope stability, including effects such as blast loading and earthquake shaking.


Synthesis of materials

High gravity conditions generated by centrifuge are applied in the chemical industry, casting, and material synthesis. The convection and mass transfer are greatly affected by the gravitational condition. Researchers reported that the high-gravity level can effectively affect the phase composition and morphology of the products.


Commercial applications

* Standalone centrifuges for drying (hand-washed) clothes – usually with a water outlet. *
Washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...
s are designed to act as centrifuges to get rid of excess water in laundry loads. * Centrifuges are used in the attraction Mission: SPACE, located at
Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...
in
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
, which propels riders using a combination of a centrifuge and a
motion simulator A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...
to simulate the feeling of going into
space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...
. * In
soil mechanics Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and wat ...
, centrifuges utilize centrifugal acceleration to match soil stresses in a scale model to those found in reality. * Large industrial centrifuges are commonly used in
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
and
wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industr ...
treatment to dry
sludge Sludge is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. For example, it can be produced as a settled suspension obtained from conventional ...
s. The resulting dry product is often termed cake, and the water leaving a centrifuge after most of the solids have been removed is called centrate. * Large industrial centrifuges are also used in the
oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...
to remove solids from the
drilling fluid In geotechnical engineering, drilling fluid, also called drilling mud, is used to aid the drilling of boreholes into the earth. Often used while drilling oil and natural gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, drilling fluids are als ...
. * Disc-stack centrifuges used by some companies in the
oil sands Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
industry to separate small amounts of water and solids from bitumen * Centrifuges are used to separate cream (remove fat) from milk; see
Separator (milk) A separator is a centrifugal device that separates milk into cream and skimmed milk. Separation was commonly performed on farms in the past. Most farmers milked a few cows, usually by hand, and separated milk. Some of the skimmed milk was consu ...
.


Mathematical description

Protocols for centrifugation typically specify the amount of
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
to be applied to the sample, rather than specifying a
rotational speed Rotational frequency (also known as rotational speed or rate of rotation) of an object rotating around an axis is the frequency of rotation of the object. Its unit is revolution per minute (rpm), cycle per second (cps), etc. The symbol fo ...
such as
revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...
. This distinction is important because two rotors with different diameters running at the same rotational speed will subject samples to different accelerations. During
circular motion In physics, circular motion is a movement of an object along the circumference of a circle or rotation along a circular path. It can be uniform, with constant angular rate of rotation and constant speed, or non-uniform with a changing rate of ro ...
the acceleration is the product of the
radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...
and the square of the angular velocity \omega, and the acceleration relative to "''g''" is traditionally named "relative centrifugal force" (RCF). The acceleration is measured in multiples of "''g''" (or × "''g''"), the standard acceleration due to
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
at the Earth's surface, a dimensionless quantity given by the expression: : \text = \frac where :\textstyle g is earth's
gravitational acceleration In physics, gravitational acceleration is the acceleration of an object in free fall within a vacuum (and thus without experiencing drag). This is the steady gain in speed caused exclusively by the force of gravitational attraction. All bodi ...
, :\textstyle r is the rotational radius, :\omega is the angular velocity in radians per unit time This relationship may be written as : \text = \frac or : \text = 1.118(2)\, \times 10^\, r_\text \, N_\text^2 where :\textstyle r_\text is the rotational radius measured in millimeters (mm), and :\textstyle N_\text is
rotational speed Rotational frequency (also known as rotational speed or rate of rotation) of an object rotating around an axis is the frequency of rotation of the object. Its unit is revolution per minute (rpm), cycle per second (cps), etc. The symbol fo ...
measured in
revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...
(RPM). To avoid having to perform a mathematical calculation every time, one can find
nomograms A nomogram (from Greek , "law" and , "line"), also called a nomograph, alignment chart, or abac, is a graphical calculating device, a two-dimensional diagram designed to allow the approximate graphical computation of a mathematical function ...
for converting RCF to rpm for a rotor of a given radius. A ruler or other straight edge lined up with the radius on one scale, and the desired RCF on another scale, will point at the correct rpm on the third scale. Based on automatic rotor recognition, modern centrifuges have a button for automatic conversion from RCF to rpm and vice versa.


See also

*
Centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...
*
Centrifugation Centrifugation is a mechanical process which involves the use of the centrifugal force to separate particles from a solution according to their size, shape, density, medium viscosity and rotor speed. The denser components of the mixture migrate ...
*
Clearing factor In centrifugation the clearing factor or k factor represents the relative pelleting efficiency of a given centrifuge rotor at maximum rotation speed. It can be used to estimate the time t (in hours) required for sedimentation of a fraction with a kn ...
* Honey extractor *
Hydroextractor {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Hydroextractors are machines which are used in the textile processing industry. These are mainly centrifuges. The wet material is placed in the extractor, which has a wall of perforated metal Pe ...
* Lamm equation *
Sedimentation coefficient The sedimentation coefficient () of a particle characterizes its sedimentation during centrifugation. It is defined as the ratio of a particle's sedimentation velocity to the applied acceleration causing the sedimentation. : s = \frac The sedime ...
*
Sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...
*
Separation process A separation process is a method that converts a mixture or a solution of chemical substances into two or more distinct product mixtures, a scientific process of separating two or more substance in order to obtain purity. At least one product mi ...
—includes list of techniques


References and notes


Further reading


Naesgaard ''et al.'', ''Modeling flow liquefaction, its mitigation, and comparison with centrifuge tests''


External links


RCF Calculator and Nomograph



Selection of historical centrifuges
in the Virtual Laboratory of the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowledg ...
{{Authority control Biochemical separation processes Medical devices