A numerical study on Faraday-type electromagnetic flowmeter in liquid metal system, 1. A numerical method based on magnetic field and electric potential field: FALCON code

To predict the three-dimensional steady-state structure of electromagnetic phenomena in the Faraday-type Electromagnetic Flowmeter (EMF), a numerical simulation method using the Galerkin finite element method has been adopted and formatted as a computer code, FALCON. As the induction equation for the induced magnetic field that is important in a liquid metal system, we have presented B-φ formulation for the induced magnetic field and the electric potential field and A-φ formulation for the vector potential field and the electric potential field, and compared the computational efficiency of both formulations. We have selected the B-φ formulation. The computer simulation of the EMF of the MONJU secondary cooling system has been performed and the calculations have shown a good agreement with the calibration test data. We have investigated qualitatively how far the influence of the end effect extends and the characteristics of the voltage response. Overall, this study has indicated that the present method can be applied to the estimation of the characteristics of an EMF and the design of a new EMF. (author)