Perspectives of contactless inductive flow tomography

The flow of an electrically conducting fluid exposed to an externally applied magnetic field leads to induced currents and hence to induced magnetic fields. These induced fields can be measured in the exterior of the fluid. The application of different external magnetic fields and the measurement of the corresponding induced magnetic fields allows to reconstruct the basic features of the velocity field of the melt. The principle of such a “Contactless Inductive Flow Tomography” (CIFT) is delineated, and a prototype experiment with a propeller driven flow of the eutectic alloy GaInSn is presented. The areas of application of CIFT, its limitations, and possible further developments are discussed.