Two-Dimensional Numerical Simulation on Performance of Liquid Metal MHD Generator

摘要

The performance of a liquid metal MHD generator is investigated with a two-dimensional numerical simulation. The effects of the electrode length, the position of current lead connection, and the insertion of an insulator on the performance are examined taking account of the current flow in the electrode. There exists an optimal electrode length for a given distribution of applied magnetic flux density. For a short electrode, the efficiency decreases because the power output becomes small. For a long electrode, on the other hand, the efficiency also decreases owing to the leakage current from the upstream and downstream edges of the electrode. An optimal current lead position was revealed. This fact is ascribed to the distributions of induced magnetic field and the current flow in the electrode. It was found that insertion of the insulator is effective for improving the performance, by which the eddy current can be reduced.