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Study on the flow features of lead-lithium MHD splitting flows under an external magnetic field with arbitrary orientation

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Abstract

The understanding of magnetohydrodynamic phenomena associated with the flow of electrically-conducting fluid in complex ducts is important and necessary in the study of liquid-metal blankets for fusion reactor. This study numerically investigates the lead-lithium (Pb-17Li) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) splitting flows. The effects of the splitting angle of the duct geometry, the magnetic field orientation and the partly different electrical conductivity of the structural walls on the flow characteristics are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the combined effects of the splitting angle, the magnetic field orientation and duct electrical conductivity on the mass flow rate and pressure drop are considered with many sub-cases. The results show that the mass imbalance and the pressure drop depend on the splitting angle of the duct geometry, on the discrepancy of the electrical conductivity of the sub-channels and also on the magnetic field orientation. In a word, this study can support several approaches to improve the flow imbalance and to reduce the pressure drop in the sub-channels of the liquid-metal (LM) MHD splitting flow system.

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Abbreviations

B 0 :

Magnetic field intensity

Ha :

Hartmann number

L :

Characteristic length

m :

Mass flow rate

p :

Pressure

Re :

Reynolds number

u :

Average velocity

θ :

The angle of the magnetic field formed with x-axis

μ :

Dynamic viscosity

ν :

Kinematic viscosity

ρ :

Density of the fluid

σ :

Electric conductivity

CFD :

Computational fluid dynamics

EFCC :

Electric-field component of the current

EMCC :

Electro-motive component of the current

FCI :

Flow channel inserts

LM :

Liquid metal

MHD :

Magnetohydrodynamic

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by Shanghai Sailing Program of China (Grant No. 20YF1432900).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China

    Yang Luo

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yong-in, 17104, Korea

    Yang Luo, Yiping Chen & Chang Nyung Kim

Authors
  1. Yang Luo
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  2. Yiping Chen
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  3. Chang Nyung Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chang Nyung Kim.

Additional information

Chang Nyung Kim is a Professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Korea. His research interests include numerical analysis of magnetohydro-dynamics and thermoelectricity.

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Luo, Y., Chen, Y. & Kim, C.N. Study on the flow features of lead-lithium MHD splitting flows under an external magnetic field with arbitrary orientation. J Mech Sci Technol 35, 4489–4502 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0919-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0919-z

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