Laminar Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Studies of an Electrical Conducting Fluid Subject to Combined Electric and Magnetic Fields

E. Gutierrez-Miravete[1], T. DePuy[2], and X. Xie[2]
[1]Rensselaer at Hartford, Hartford, CT
[2]Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, CT
Veröffentlicht in 2011

The flow of electrically conducting fluids such as liquid metals is significantly affected by applied electric and magnetic fields. The effect has important industrial applications in metallurgy, nuclear technology and other fields.

This paper described results of a series of studies designed to investigate the capabilities of COMSOL Multiphysics to accurately simulate the steady laminar flow and heat transfer of a conducting fluid subjected to the influence of combined electrical and magnetic fields. Numerical approximations are computed for the flow between parallel plates with uniform electric and magnetic fields normal to the flow direction (Hartmann problem) and for the flow in a backward facing step. The influence of the applied electromagnetic field on the heat transport was also examined.