Modeling hydrodynamics and heat exchange in response to liquid metal buoyant flow in a rectangular channel in a coplanar magnetic field

The hydrodynamics and heat exchange in response to liquid metal (LM) buoyant flow in a rectangular channel with approximately 3/1 aspect ratio in a coplanar magnetic field (MF) on the assumption of one-sided channel heating have been studied. The flow configuration is approximated to the heat exchange channel of the cooling system of a TOKAMAK fusion reactor LM blanket. Experiments were performed on the mercury magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) test stand as part of MPEI – JIHT of RAS facility. Under the conditions of buoyant flow, the measurable effect of thermal gravitational convection (TGC) interacting with the external MF in some environments was detected, it causes occurrence and development of layered flow variabilities. Averaged velocity, channel wall temperature profiles are shown. The MF causes suppression of turbulent transfer resulting in an increase in heated wall temperature. A numerical model of target values under experimental conditions is proposed. In the process of numerical simulation, the differential equation system: the continuity equation, the motion equation for three velocity components and the energy equation, was solved. To compute turbulence, the Reihardt model adapted for the rectangular channel was used. Computational data agree satisfactorily with experimental data. (paper)