Modeling of slag/seed interaction phenomena in coal-fired MHD generators

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5355309

Luongo, C A

This thesis presents an analytical investigation on the effects of slag/seed interactions in MHD energy conversion. An analytical/numerical model was developed to study the chemical and physical interaction of slag with potassium seed in an MHD generator. The approach consists of solving the system of coupled, parabolic, boundary layer equations, including mass diffusion. A modified two dimensional boundary layer solver is used to determine velocity, temperature, and seed concentration fields in the channel. Standard wall conditions are used for the momentum and energy equations; when solving the potassium diffusion equation the assumption is that chemical equilibrium prevails at the plasma/slag interface. In calculations to determine the chemical-equilibrium condition, the slag phase is modeled as a nonideal solution. The chemical model was used to predict the potassium content of slag given the stoichiometry of the system. The computational values were compared with experimental analysis and found to be in good agreement. A 275 MW/sub th/ first generation MHD power train was modeled and used as a case study to assess the severity of slag/seed interaction effects on generator performance. This work shows that even though these effects cannot be neglected, they do not pose a serious impediment to the development of MHD power generation.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5355309
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
014000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Combustion
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
300102* -- MHD Generators-- Performance & Testing
ALKALI METALS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
COAL-FIRED MHD GENERATORS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELEMENTS
LAYERS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METALS
MHD GENERATORS
PERFORMANCE
POTASSIUM
SEED-SLAG INTERACTIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS