Some electrically driven flows in magnetohydrodynamics. Part 1. Theory

Abstract

The magnetohydrodynamic flow between two parallel conducting planes is investigated for the case when the flow is driven by the current produced by electrodes placed one in each plane, the applied magnetic field being perpendicular to the planes. An exact solution is presented for the case of line electrodes placed opposite each other and an approximate method of determining the flow in this case for large Hartman number (M) is also given. It is shown that for large M the asymptotic form of the exact solution agrees with that obtained by the approximate method. The results are generalized to cover the case of line electrodes displaced relative to each other. A similar investigation is carried out for the case of two point electrodes opposite each other.