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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

High-magnetic-field MHD-generator program. Quarterly report, January 1, 1981-March 31, 1981

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6472122· OSTI ID:6472122

Progress in an experimental and theoretical program designed to investigate MHD channel phenomena which are important at high magnetic fields is reported. The areas of research include nonuniformity effects, boundary layers, Hall field breakdown, the effects of electrode configuration and current concentrations, and studies of steady-state combustion disk and linear channels in an existing 6 Tesla magnet of small dimensions. In the study of the effects of nonuniformities, experiments have been performed to test a multi-channel, fiber optics diagnostic system that yields time-resolved temperature profiles in an MHD channel. For the study of magneto-acoustic fluctuation phenomena, a one-dimensional model has been developed to describe the performance of a non-ideal MHD generator with a generalized electrical configuration. The installation of the hardware for the data acquisition and reduction of the laser Doppler velocimeter data, to be used in the study of turbulence suppression in a magnetic field, has been nearly completed. A two-dimensional MHD computer code has been developed which predicts the dependence on electrode and insulator dimensions of the onset of interelectrode Hall field breakdown. Calculations have been performed of the effects of nonuniformities on the flow and electrical behavior of baseload-sized disk generators.

Research Organization:
Stanford Univ., CA (USA). High Temperature Gasdynamics Lab.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC01-80ET15611
OSTI ID:
6472122
Report Number(s):
DOE/ET/15611-T2; ON: DE81025560
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English