Three-dimensional MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) flows in rectangular ducts of liquid-metal-cooled blankets

Abstract

Magnetohydrodynamic flows of liquid metals in rectangular ducts with thin conducting walls in the presence of strong nonuniform transverse magnetic fields are examined. The interaction parameter and Hartmann number are assumed to be large, whereas the magnetic Reynolds number is assumed to be small. Under these assumptions, viscous and inertial effects are confined in very thin boundary layers adjacent to the walls. A significant fraction of the fluid flow is concentrated in the boundary layers adjacent to the side walls which are parallel to the magnetic field. This paper describes the analysis and numerical methods for obtaining 3-D solutions for flow parameters outside these layers, without solving explicitly for the layers themselves. Numerical solutions are presented for cases which are relevant to the flows of liquid metals in fusion reactor blankets. Experimental results obtained from the ALEX experiments at Argonne National Laboratory are used to validate the numerical code. In general, the agreement is excellent. 5 refs., 14 figs.