Core Flow Analysis of Liquid-Metal Magnetohydrodynamic Flow in Slotted Channels with Anchor Links

Abstract

A computationally efficient method for analyzing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow is used to investigate flow in a channel with a high aspect ratio that is mechanically strengthened by the use of anchor links. The method used is the core flow approximation, which neglects inertial and viscous effects and the induced magnetic field. This reduces the governing equations to a set of linear equations. These assumptions are often valid at the high magnetic fields characteristic of a fusion reactor. The slotted duct shape is used to reduce the MHD pressure drop, which may be excessive in liquid-metal blankets. It may be necessary, however, to use anchor links in the design, and these anchor links introduce an additional pressure drop. The analysis shows that the size is more important than the conductivity of the anchor link. Depending on the size of the anchor link, the pressure drop is shown to increase by as much as 100% for the geometries analyzed.