Simulation of fluid flow in levitated Fe-Co droplets electromagnetically processed onboard the ISS

S. Lomaev^{1, 2} - M. Krivilyov^{2, 1} - J. Fransaer³ - J. Lee⁴ - T. Volkmann⁵ - D. M. Matson⁶

¹ Udmurt Federal Research Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Science, 34 Baramzinoy str., 426067 Izhevsk, Russia
² Udmurt State University, Department of Mathematics, Computer Engineering and Physics, 1 Universitetskaya str., 426034 Izhevsk, Russia
³ KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
⁴ Iowa State University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2010 Black Engr., Ames, IA 50011, USA
⁵ Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), D-51170 Köln, Germany
⁶ Tufts University, Mechanical Engineering Department, 200 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA

Abstract
In the previous paper [Lomaev, Krivilyov, Fransaer, Magnetohydrodynamics, 2016], exact analytical expressions for the Lorentz force density and Joule heat power induced by an external alternating magnetic field inside an electromagnetically levitated drop have been derived. This yields a close-form analytical solution of the conjugated hydrodynamic-thermal problem for a spherical liquid drop in a gas atmosphere. In this paper, the developed method has been used to analyze structural transitions in fluid flow patterns inside a levitated Fe-Co droplet tested recently in the framework of the PARSEC space experiment onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The convection level is calculated based on the positioning and heating currents in the coil and an optimum flow regime is predicted. Figs 2, Refs 4.