Experiments on the magnetic damping of an inductively stirred liquid metal flow

This work is concerned with the stabilisation of both the bulk liquid metal flow and the free surface shape in inductively heated melts. Steady magnetic fields of different orientation were used to damp fluctuations generated by an external alternating magnetic field as it is typical for an induction heater. This superposition of a driving alternating with a braking steady magnetic field was investigated experimentally at a low temperature isothermal model utilising a rectangular fluid volume in an induction--furnace--like setup fed by a current of intermediate frequency. Local velocity measurements in the liquid metal revealed quite different damping characteristics for steady fields aligned either normal or parallel to the melt surface.