Heat transfer enhancement in liquid metal by rotating magnetic field

E. Barami¹ - B. Mikhailovich¹ - T. Shukrun¹ - S. Sukoriansky¹ - E. Zemach²

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva, 8410501, Israel
² SOREQ Nuclear Research Center, Israel

Abstract
The rotating magnetic field was used to improve the heat transfer in liquid metal targets exposed to high heat fluxes. Semi-analytical approximate solutions for the rotating magnetic field and for the flow field have been developed and used in parametric study and optimization of the inductor design. Additionally, the rotating magnetic field was computed by the commercial code ANSYS MAXWELL and plugged into the ANSYS FLUENT code as a user defined function. Different simulations were conducted in order to test the dependence of the liquid metal flow and temperature distribution on the parameters of rotating magnetic field. The main goal was to obtain a maximum flow circulation in the region exposed to high heat flux and a maximum reduction of the fluid temperature. The MHD experimental facility with stirring driven by the rotating magnetic field has been built in the BGU MHD laboratory to verify the numerical results. The experimental results are presented and future experiments are discussed. Figs 11, Refs 4.