Investigations of electrically driven liquid metal flows using an ultrasound Doppler flow mapping system

This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical study of the properties of a liquid metal flow inside a cylinder driven by the application of a strong electrical current. The interaction between the electric current running through the melt and the corresponding induced magnetic field produces so-called electro-vortex flows. We consider here a configuration of two parallel pencil electrodes immersed at the free surface. Velocity measurements were performed by means of the Ultrasound Doppler method. A linear array of 25 singular transducers was used to determine the two-dimensional pattern of the vertical flow component. Numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) problem were conducted to calculate the Lorentz force, the Joule heating and the induced melt flow. Experimental and numerical results reveal a complex three-dimensional flow structure of the liquid metal flow. In particular, two pronounced downward jets are formed below both electrodes. The flow structure appears to be symmetrical with respect to two vertical cross sections being perpendicular to each other and one of the two planes contains the electrodes. The comparison between the experimental data and the numerical results shows a very good agreement.