Electronic edition ISSN 1574-0579

Velocity measurements and concentration field visualizations in copper electrolysis under the influence of Lorentz forces and buoyancy

T. Weier - C. Cierpka - J. Hüller - G. Gerbeth

Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, P.O.~Box 51 01 19, 01314 Dresden, Germany

Abstract
Velocity measurements and shadowgraph visualizations for copper electrolysis under the influence of a magnetic field are reported. Experiments in a rectangular cell show the expected strong correlation between flow features and limiting current density. The flow can be understood as driven by the interplay of Lorentz force and buoyancy. For a cylindrical cell with only slightly non-parallel electric and magnetic field lines, the presence and importance of the Lorentz force is demonstrated by velocity measurements. Figs 6, Refs 13.