The effect of a magnetic field on the flow of a conducting fluid past a circular disk

Abstract

In the previous paper (Chester 1961) it was shown that, for large values of the Hartmann number, the asymptotic solution for the flow past a body of revolution has a discontinuity on the surface of a cylinder which circumscribes the body. The flow in the region of this discontinuity is now investigated in more detail when the body is a circular disk broadside-on to the flow. It will be shown that there is actually a region of transition whose thickness is O(|x|^½/M^½), where x is the axial distance from the disk and M is the Hartmann number. This region is thin near the disk, but gradually thickens until it merges into the over-all flow field for x = O(M).The leading terms in the expression for the drag are given by $\frac{D}{D_s} = \frac{M \pi }{8} \left( 1 + \frac{2}{M} \right) $, where D_s is the Stokes drag.