Magnetic Field Effect on the Natural Convection of a Liquid Metal in a Horizontal Cylinder

Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) effects are widely exploited in different industrial processes. MHD play an essential role in nuclear fusion, where it is involved in the behavior of the liquid metal alloys employed in some of the currently considered designs of tritium breeding blankets. Results of numerical simulations are presented for the natural convection of a liquid metal placed in a horizontal cylinder in the presence of a vertical magnetic field. When there is an additional magnetic field, an induced current is produced by the movement of the liquid metal in a magnetic field. Induced current and magnetic field interaction produced a Lorentz force which is opposite to the movement direction and inhibits the natural convection and heat transfer intensity. The numerical results show that the magnetic field has a observable effect at the heat transfer process of the liquid metal natural convection in a horizontal cylinder. An interesting effect of the magnetic field during the internal flow is the deceleration of the flow velocity for liquid Gallium. The magnetic field in the horizontal radial direction, which is perpendicular to the natural convection caused by the temperature gradient all the while, has the most significant influence on the natural convection, while the influence on the axial direction is comparatively weak in medium magnetic field. With the increase of the intensity of magnetic field, the inhibition is more obvious.