Experimental flow around a conducting cylinder in an axial homogeneous magnetic field

O. Andreev - Yu. Kolesnikov

Institute of Physics, Latvian University, Salaspils-1, LV-2169, Latvia

Abstract
The results of an experimental study of transversal flow around conducting cylinder by liquid metal eutectic alloy InGaSn at the presence of homogeneous magnetic field up to 1.35 T directed along cylinder axis are presented. Velocity and spectrum measurements in the cylinder wake were used to define the flow around instability. It has been found that the critical Reynolds number (according to the breakdown of bound vortices behind cylinder) increases 40-fold at the strong field compared with the usual case without magnetic field. Measurements of cylinder drag force to a flow in a strong magnetic field have been shown that its drag coefficient decreases 3 fold at the MHD interaction parameter growth. Physical aspects of the phenomena are discussed. Figs 7, refs 10.