centrifuge

centrifuge, any device that applies a sustained centrifugal force—that is, a force due to rotation. Effectively, the centrifuge substitutes a similar, stronger, force for that of gravity. Every centrifuge contains a spinning vessel; there are many configurations, depending on use. A perforated rotating drum in a laundry that throws off excess water from clothes, for example, is a type of centrifuge. A similar type is used in industry to separate fluids from solid matter after crushing.

As enunciated by Sir Isaac Newton in his first law of motion, a freely moving body (such as a ball) tends to travel in a straight line, and, if directed along a curved path by some restraining force (such as would result were a hand-held string tied to it), it will exert a force against the directing or restraining force in its continual effort to fly off onto a straight tangential course. It is a familiar observation that an object revolving in a circle exerts a force away from the centre of rotation. This force, which is the outward pull of the ball on its string, is the centrifugal force. Also, there is general appreciation of the fact that the amount of this force can be increased by increasing either the angular velocity of rotation, the mass of the object, or the radius of the circle through which the object moves. Perhaps not so generally appreciated is the fact that, whereas the centrifugal force is directly proportional to the radius and to the mass, it is proportional to the square of the angular velocity. For example, doubling the mass of the rotating object will increase the centrifugal force by a factor of 2, but doubling the number of revolutions per minute (rpm) will increase the centrifugal force by a factor of 4 (equals 2 times 2); similarly, increasing the speed by a factor of 10 will increase the force by a factor of 100 (equals 10 times 10). Centrifugal force is expressed by the basic relation F = mν² / R = 4π²mn²R; F is the centrifugal force, m the mass, R the radius, v the speed, and n the number of revolutions per second.

The centrifugal force is often compared directly with the weight (pull of gravity) of the object, and the amount of force is stated as so many “times gravity” or so many “g.” Through the use of special research apparatus, forces greater than 5,000,000 times gravity have been produced by spinning small metal rotors of about pea size at speeds exceeding 1,000,000 revolutions per minute.

The rotating element of a centrifuge is usually driven about a fixed axis by an electric motor, or by an air turbine in some high-speed machines, and is known as a rotor, bowl, or drum. For the minimizing of vibration and strain on the shaft and bearings, it is essential that a loaded rotor be well balanced—i.e., that its total mass be so distributed about the axis of rotation that the resultant of all the elemental forces is zero. If the bearings are suited to high speeds and if ample power is available to overcome the frictional resistance of the bearings, the only limitation to the speed of a well-balanced rotor is the strength against rupture of the material from which it is made.

For example, a rotor with a 15-cm (6-inch) diameter used in certain biological studies and designed especially for high speeds has a limiting speed for routine operation of about 60,000 revolutions per minute. In a rotor of given design, the maximum angular velocity obtainable before rupture is to a close approximation inversely proportional to the rotor’s diameter. Thus, a small rotor having only one-half the diameter of a larger one can be as safely rotated at twice the angular velocity and with the production at the periphery of twice the centrifugal force.

The widest use of centrifuges is for the concentration and purification of materials in suspension or dissolved in fluids. Suspended particles denser than the suspending liquid tend to migrate toward the periphery, while those less dense move toward the centre. The rapidity with which the migration proceeds is dependent on the intensity of the centrifugal field, the difference between the density of the particle and that of the suspending liquid, the viscosity of the liquid, the size and shape of the particle, and to some extent the concentration of the particles and the degree to which they are electrically charged. The net motivating force exerted on the particle is the difference between the centrifugal field acting on it and the opposing buoyancy of the liquid. All other things being equal for two particles, one with a diameter 10 times that of the other will require only 1/100 as much average centrifugal field to move a given distance in a given time as the smaller.

From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that a practically complete separation of the suspending medium and the suspended particles can be produced if the centrifugation is allowed to continue until all particles have collected against the outer wall of the spinning vessel or centrifuge. It should also be noted that a partial separation of two groups of suspended particles of different size can be effected by allowing centrifugation to continue only long enough for all of the larger particles to be completely packed into the sediment, since then many of the small particles will still be suspended in the fluid. If separation of the larger as well as the smaller particles is desired, the surface fluid can be drawn off and the sediment resuspended in some suitable liquid and subsequently centrifuged again to effect further separation.

Centrifuges may be classified in three general categories depending on whether the spinning centrifuge bowl that contains the material to be separated has a solid wall, a perforated wall, or some combination of the two. Also, they may be characterized according to whether the material is treated in a continuous flow process, a batch process, or a combination of the above processes.