Numerical analysis of liquid flows exposed to travelling magnetic field. 1. Idealized numerical experiment

I. Smolianov¹ - E. Shmakov¹ - J. Vencels²

¹ Ural Power Engineering Institute, Ural Federal University, 19 Mira str., Ekaterinburg 620002, Russia
² EOF Consulting LLC, Riga, Latvia

Abstract
This paper is one of two upcoming articles concerned with numerical study of flow instabilities due to a travelling magnetic field. The goal is to numerically evaluate the influence of the travelling magnetic field on liquid metal flow. In this paper, an idealized model is considered, where the inductor produces a uniform magnetic field in the cross-stream direction of a rectangular channel. The model was implemented in the open source software OpenFOAM, Elmer and the EOF-library middleware. The optimal magnetic field recalculation frequency for the numerical model was estimated based on the calculation time and on the relative accuracy of the obtained results. The mechanisms of fluid flow instability and the influence of the magnetic field frequency on the velocity field, as well as some practical implications of the study are discussed. An attempt is made to drive some flow patterns due to instability. Figs 10, Refs 45.