Liquid-metal flow in a system of electrically coupled U-bends in a strong uniform magnetic field

1995 ◽  
Vol 299 ◽  
pp. 73-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei Molokov ◽  
Robert Stieglitz
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Uniform Magnetic Field ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Metal Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Recirculatory Flow ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Very High

Liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamic flow in a system of electrically coupled U-bends in a strong uniform magnetic field is studied. The ducts composing the bends are electrically conducting and have rectangular cross-sections. It has been anticipated that very strong global electric currents are induced in the system, which modify the flow pattern and produce a very high pressure drop compared to the flow in a single U-bend. A detailed asymptotic analysis of flow for high values of the Harmann number (in fusion blanket applications of the order of 103−104) shows that circulation of global currents results in several types of peculiar flow patterns. In ducts parallel to the magnetic field a combination of helical and recirculatory flow types may be present and vary from one bend to another. The magnitude of the recirculatory motion may become very high depending on the flow-rate distribution between the bends in the system. The recirculatory flow may account for about 50% of the flow in all bends. In addition there are equal and opposite jets at the walls parallel to the magnetic field, which are common to any two bends. The pressure drop due to three-dimensional effects linearly increases with the number of bends in a system and may significantly affect the total pressure drop. To suppress this and some other unwelcome tendencies either the ducts perpendicular to the magnetic field should be electrically separated, or the flow direction in the neighbouring ducts should be made opposite, so that leakage currents cancel each other.

Experimental Investigation on Liquid-Metal Flow Distribution in Insulating Manifold Under Uniform Magnetic Field

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Ueki ◽  
Masato Miura ◽  
Takehiko Yokomine ◽  
Tomoaki Kunugi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Metal Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Heat Removal ◽  
Flow Distribution ◽  
Fluid Flows ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Flow Imbalance ◽  
The Magnetic Field

A presence of a strong external magnetic field can affect a flow distribution of a liquid-metal (LM) coolant in a fusion blanket, due to magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects. LM blankets have some manifolds, where the coolant flow from a single supply channel is distributed to multiple parallel channels. Since these manifolds have complex geometries, an interaction between induced axial electric currents and the magnetic field reorganizes the flow to be three-dimensional. A flow imbalance in such a complicated manifold affects heat removal performances, which is closely related to the blanket feasibility and safety. This study was performed to experimentally and numerically investigate a LM distribution in MHD flows in an electrically insulating manifold with changing the intensity and orientation of the magnetic field transverse to the flows. The flow passage employed in this study is a U-turn manifold consisting of an upward rectangular duct, a U-turn branching area, and two downward ducts with insulating walls. The gallium-indium-tin eutectic alloy (GaInSn) was employed as a working fluid. The present study shows that, as the magnetic field is applied more perpendicularly with respect to the U-turn, much amount of the fluid flows in the inner downward channel than that in the outer one.

Liquid-metal flow in an insulated rectangular expansion with a strong transverse magnetic field

1995 ◽  
Vol 305 ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Walker ◽  
Basil F. Picologlou
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Applied Magnetic Field ◽  
Metal Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Liquid Metal Flow ◽  
Constant Area ◽  
Large Expansion ◽  
The Magnetic Field

This paper concerns a steady liquid-metal flow through an expansion or contraction with electrically insulated walls, with rectangular cross-sections and with a uniform, transverse, externally applied magnetic field. One pair of duct walls is parallel to the applied magnetic field, and the other pair diverges or converges symmetrically about a plane which is perpendicular to the field. The magnetic field is assumed to be sufficiently strong that inertial effects can be neglected and that the well-known Hartmann-layer solution is valid for the boundary layers on the walls which are not parallel to the magnetic field. A general treatment of three-dimensional flows in constant-area ducts is presented. An error in the solution of Walker et al. (1972) is corrected. A smooth expansion between two different constant-area ducts is treated. In the expansion the flow is concentrated inside the boundary layers on the sides which are parallel to the magnetic field, while the flow at the centre of the duct is very small and may be negative for a large expansion slope. In each constant-area duct, the flow evolves from a concentration near the sides at the junction with the expansion to the appropriate fully developed flow far upstream or downstream of the expansion. The pressure drop associated with the three-dimensional flow increases as the slope. increases.

scholarly journals Linear Stability Analysis of Liquid Metal Flow in an Insulating Rectangular Duct under External Uniform Magnetic Field

Fluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tagawa
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Stability Analysis ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Linear Stability ◽  
Linear Stability Analysis ◽  
Uniform Magnetic Field ◽  
Metal Flow ◽  
Rectangular Duct ◽  
Liquid Metal Flow ◽  
External Uniform Magnetic Field

Linear stability analysis of liquid metal flow driven by a constant pressure gradient in an insulating rectangular duct under an external uniform magnetic field was carried out. In the present analysis, since the Joule heating and induced magnetic field were neglected, the governing equations consisted of the continuity of mass, momentum equation, Ohm’s law, and conservation of electric charge. A set of linearized disturbance equations for the complex amplitude was decomposed into real and imaginary parts and solved numerically with a finite difference method using the highly simplified marker and cell (HSMAC) algorithm on a two-dimensional staggered mesh system. The difficulty of the complex eigenvalue problem was circumvented with a Newton—Raphson method during which its corresponding eigenfunction was simultaneously obtained by using an iterative procedure. The relation among the Reynolds number, the wavenumber, the growth rate, and the angular frequency was successfully obtained for a given value of the Hartmann number as well as for a direction of external uniform magnetic field.

Experimental study on liquid metal free surface flow under magnetic and electric field for nuclear fusion

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Meng ◽  
Z H Wang ◽  
Dengke Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Free Surface ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Liquid Film ◽  
Metal Flow ◽  
First Wall ◽  
Flowing Liquid ◽  
Liquid Metal Flow ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract In the future application of nuclear fusion, the liquid metal flows are considered to be an attractive option of the first wall of the Tokamak which can effectively remove impurities and improve the confinement of plasma. Moreover, the flowing liquid metal can solve the problem of the corrosion of the solid first wall due to high thermal load and particle discharge. In the magnetic confinement fusion reactor, the liquid metal flow experiences strong magnetic and electric, fields from plasma. In the present paper, an experiment has been conducted to explore the influence of electric and magnetic fields on liquid metal flow. The direction of electric current is perpendicular to that of the magnetic field direction, and thus the Lorentz force is upward or downward. A laser profilometer (LP) based on the laser triangulation technique is used to measure the thickness of the liquid film of Galinstan. The phenomenon of the liquid column from the free surface is observed by the high-speed camera under various flow rates, intensities of magnetic field and electric field. Under a constant external magnetic field, the liquid column appears at the position of the incident current once the external current exceeds a critical value, which is inversely proportional to the magnetic field. The thickness of the flowing liquid film increases with the intensities of magnetic field, electric field, and Reynolds number. The thickness of the liquid film at the incident current position reaches a maximum value when the force is upward. The distribution of liquid metal in the channel presents a parabolic shape with high central and low marginal. Additionally, the splashing, i.e., the detachment of liquid metal is not observed in the present experiment, which suggests a higher critical current for splashing to occur.

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