A Low Cost Centrifuge for Materials Processing in High Gravity

Development and Construction of a Centrifuge for Materials Processing in High Accelerations

“…The development of the equipment was based on the concept developed by An et al [2] and the requirements of the laboratory, as follows: (i) geometric and safety restrictions; (ii) demand for studies and research; and (iii) the availability of materials and manufacturing methods. The centrifuge design was divided in two applications: materials solidification and simulation of sounding rocket rotation.…”

“…This machined part is subjected mainly a compressive load. Due to this, was chosen ductile materials for the parts, aluminum AA 6351-T6 and PVC (polyvinyl chloride), the second used only for electrical insulation of the contact rings, without performing any structural function [2,11].…”

“…The solidification of metals and their alloys depends on many different factors, in general, these terms are related to the processes of nucleation and growth; and both can be directly or indirectly affected by gravity force. The action of acceleration can change the heat and mass transfer during the material solidification process; and due to the action of Coriolis acceleration in the fluid (liquid material) that affects the stability of the thermal and constitutional flow [1][2][3][4].…”

“…The study of materials solidified in centrifuges improves the understanding how the accelerations, bigger than the Earth's gravity, influence on materials processing. Large centrifuges are expensive and hardly available for crystal growth and solidification experiments [2,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. To overcome this difficulty, a small centrifuge was designed 1 and built at Associated Laboratory of Sensors and Materials of the National Institute of Space Research (LABAS/INPE), which provides an acceleration ranging from 1 to 10 times the Earth gravity [11].…”