An MHD Study of the Behavior of an Electrolyte Solution Using 3D Numerical Simulation

L. P. Aoki[1], H. E. Schulz[1], M. G. Maunsell[1]
[1]University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
发布日期 2013

This article considers a closed water circuit with square cross section filled with an electrolyte fluid. The conductor fluid was moved using an electromagnetic pump, in which a permanent magnet generates a magnetic field and electrodes generate the electric field in the flow. Thus, the movement is a consequence of the magnetohydrodynamic (or MHD) effect. The model adopted here was derived from the Navier-Stokes equations for Newtonian incompressible fluid using the k-ε turbulence model and coupled with the Maxwell equations. The equations were solved using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The 3D numerical simulations allowed obtaining realistic predictions of the Lorentz forces, the current densities, and the movement of the flows as a consequence of the MHD effects, imposing direct currents.