Turbulent hydromagnetic flow in bottom-heated thermosyphonic closed loop

An analytical one-dimensional model is developed to predict the hydrodynami c characteristics of a turbulent thermosyphonic bottom heated loop containi ng an electrically conducting fluid in a transverse magnetic field. The mod el correlates the induced flow velocity and current in terms of the relevan t flow and geometric parameters. The study covers ranges of the Grashof num ber, GI, from 10(8) to 10(16), the Hartmann number, Ha, from 0 to 200 and t he Prandtl number, Pr, from 0.02 to 7. A direct energy conversion from ther mal to electrical is envisioned in using a thermosyphonic hydromagnetic clo sed loop flow. It is found that the induced electric current increases shar ply with increased Hartmann number at low values, and then, as Ha is increa sed further, the induced current either decreases or increases at a much lo wer rate, depending on GI and Pr. The system heat reduction factor is also estimated based on the amount of suppression of heat transport from the hot to the cold segment when a magnetic field is present to the amount transpo rted when no field is present. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.