Lecture Announcement

Prof. Dr. Sergei Molokov
Coventry University, UK

MHD problems in fusion

Research in magnetohydrodynamic flows in liquid metal systems for fusion has a long history, going back to 35 years. This has been a stimulating factor for the development of fundamental and applied aspects of high-field magnetohydrodynamics. The advancement of international fusion project, ITER, brings R&D needs in the field to a new level. Fundamental and engineering aspects of liquid metal, cooling systems (blankets and divertors) of fusion reactors are discussed. These devices employ a liquid metal (lithium or lithium lead alloy) as a cooling medium. One of the most important problems for the liquid-metal flows is the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) interaction. When a liquid metal flows in a magnetic field, electric currents are induced. These currents in turn interact with the magnetic field and the resulting electromagnetic force induces high MHD pressure drop and significant distortions of the velocity profile. These effects have direct influence on the performance of the reactor, and ought to be understood. MHD interaction has peculiar effects on flow patterns in complex duct flows, such as bends, expansions, manifolds, and free surface flows, such as liquid metal films, rivulets, jets, and drops. Fundamental issues of liquid metal flows in high magnetic field are discussed, and an outlook for research on stability and transition to turbulence in liquid metal flows, and their implications on heat transfer is given.  

Place: FZR, Seminarraum Geb. 120
Time: 31.03.05, 10:00 Uhr