Influence of a magnetic field on liquid metal free convection in an internally heated cubic enclosure

Abstract

The buoyancy‐driven magnetohydrodynamic flow in a cubic enclosure was investigated by three‐dimensional numerical simulation. The enclosure was volumetrically heated by a uniform power density and cooled along two opposite vertical walls, all remaining walls being adiabatic. A uniform magnetic field was applied orthogonally to the gravity vector and to the temperature gradient. The Prandtl number was 0.0321 (characteristic of Pb–17Li at 300°C), the Rayleigh number was 104, and the Hartmann number was made to vary between 0 and 2×103. The steady‐state Navier–Stokes equations, in conjunction with a scalar transport equation for the fluid's enthalpy and with the Poisson equation for the electrical potential, were solved by a finite volume method using a purposely modified CFD code and a computational grid with 643 nodes in the fluid. Emphasis was laid on the effects of increasing the Hartmann number on the complex three‐dimensional flow and current pattern.