The effect of a magnetic field on the flow of a conducting fluid past a body of revolution

Abstract

The problem described by the title is investigated when both the magnetic field and the streaming motion of the fluid at infinity are uniform and parallel to the axis of symmetry of the body. The flow pattern depends on three parameters, the Reynolds number R, the magnetic Reynolds number R_m and the Hartmann number M. In this paper it is assumed that M [Gt ] 1, M [Gt ] R, M [Gt ] R_m (no other restrictions on the parameters are imposed, so that R and R_m need not be small). The flow pattern then consists of an undisturbed uniform stream outside a cylinder circumscribing the body with generators parallel to the stream. Inside this cylinder the fluid is at rest. The leading term in the expression for the drag on the body is obtained.