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Two-dimensional turbulent convection in a toroidal duct of a liquid metal blanket of a fusion reactor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Xuan Zhang  and
Oleg Zikanov
Xuan Zhang*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan – Dearborn, MI 48128-1491, USA
Oleg Zikanov
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan – Dearborn, MI 48128-1491, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: xuanz@umich.edu
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Abstract

Convection in a horizontal duct aligned with a uniform magnetic field is analysed computationally. The motivation of the study is the concept of a liquid metal blanket for a tokamak fusion reactor, in which ducts are oriented toroidally, i.e. parallel to the main component of the magnetic field. Computations of two-dimensional (streamwise-uniform) flows appearing at very strong magnetic fields and of three-dimensional flows in long domains are conducted. Non-uniform volumetric internal heating is applied, while the walls are maintained at a constant temperature. Two-dimensional or nearly two-dimensional turbulent convection is found at high Grashof and Hartmann numbers typical for fusion reactor conditions. The turbulence results in stronger mixing and more uniform distribution of wall heat flux, indicating promising potential of this concept of the blanket.

JFM classification

Convection: Convection MHD and Electrohydrodynamics: High-Hartmann-number flows MHD and Electrohydrodynamics: MHD and Electrohydrodynamics

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Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 779 , 25 September 2015 , pp. 36 - 52
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© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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