Liquid metal flow in a simple manifold with a strong transverse magnetic field

Abstract

This paper treats a liquid-metal flow through a simple manifold connecting one duct to two parallel ducts. The manifold consists of an infinitely long, constant-area, rectangular duct with a uniform, transverse magnetic field and with a semi-infinite middle wall at the plane of symmetry which is perpendicular to the magnetic field. The magnetic flux density is sufficiently large that inertial effects can be neglected everywhere and that viscous effects are confined to boundary layers and to an interior layer along the magnetic field lines through the end of the middle wall. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an approach with eigenfunction expansions which will be useful for manifolds with many parallel ducts. In the present simple manifold, the principal three-dimensional effect is a transfer of flow to the inviscid core region from the high-velocity jets adjacent to the sides which are parallel to the magnetic field. There is also an important redistribution of flow along magnetic field lines inside the side-wall boundary layers.