MHD PRESSURE-DROP AND HEAT-TRANSFER OF LITHIUM SINGLE-PHASE FLOW IN ARECTANGULAR CHANNEL UNDER TRANSVERSE MAGNETIC-FIELD

Related to the lithium cooling for magnetic-confinement fusion reactor s, the characteristics of the pressure drop and heat transfer were inv estigated experimentally for a lithium single-phase flow in horizontal conducting rectangular channels under a horizontal transverse magneti c field up to 1.4 T. The bottom of the channel was electrically heated uniformly. Friction loss coefficient agreed well with the Blasius cor relation in the absence of a magnetic field. Skin friction coefficient in the presence of a magnetic field agreed with a simplified analytic al MHD expression, while it was correlated well with the ratio of the Hartmann number to the Reynolds number. The Nusselt number was in good agreement with the modified correlation of Hartinett and Irvine in th e absence of a magnetic field. With increasing the Hartmann number fro m 0 to about 200-300, the Nusselt number decreased possibly due to lam inarization. When the Hartmann number was increased further beyond 200 -300, the Nusselt number increased remarkably, which corresponded to t he typical MHD heat transfer enhancement. This heat transfer result is expected to be the basis for future studies on the MHD heat transfer enhancement. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.