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Effects of Inclined Gradient Magnetic Field on the Liquid Metal Flow States Through Coupled Conducting Ducts

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Abstract

The liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow through coupled ducts with conducting walls under inclined transversal gradient magnetic field is an important physical flow phenomenon, which has the unknown physical mechanism about the interaction between the electromagnetic coupling effect and the three-dimensional (3D) MHD effect. To reveal this physical mechanism, 3D numerical simulations based on a customized solver in the OpenFoam environment are conducted to systematically study the effect of inclined gradient magnetic field on the MHD flow states through coupled conducting ducts. Then the mechanism behind the generation of the 3D MHD effect in the gradient magnetic field zones has been discussed in detail. It is found that the electromagnetic coupling effect can enhance this 3D MHD effect in the co-flow case, but suppress it in the counter-flow case. Moreover, the strong electromagnetic coupling effect in the counter-flow case will induce a “self-circulation” flow region in the duct when the external magnetic field is inclined, and the inclined angle also has a great influence on the area of this flow region, which reduces with the increase of the inclined angle. These results are important for the in-depth fundamental understanding of the 3D MHD effect of liquid metal flowing through coupled conducting ducts under inclined gradient magnetic field, and also helpful for the future design of the liquid metal blanket of fusion reactor.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from NSFC under Grant No. 12275069, and the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (Grant No. 2022ZYD0023, No. 2022NSFSC1220 and No. 2019YJ0297). The authors also acknowledge the previously unpublished data in Figs. 2, 13, 14, 15 and 17 provided by Dr. Claude B. Reed and his colleagues at Argonne National Laboratory with gratitude.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fusion Science, Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu, China

    Lei Wang, Xiujie Zhang & Zhenchao Sun

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  1. Lei Wang
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L. W. wrote the main manuscript text. L. W. and X. Z. prepared all the figures. And all authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiujie Zhang.

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Wang, L., Zhang, X. & Sun, Z. Effects of Inclined Gradient Magnetic Field on the Liquid Metal Flow States Through Coupled Conducting Ducts. J Fusion Energ 42, 54 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-023-00391-7

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