Numerical characterization of liquid metal MHD flow in co-axial rectangular manifolds

This work aims to analyse an isothermal and steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow in a co-axial channel using the Ansys CFX code. The geometric reference model is representative of the European Water-Cooled Lead Lithium (WCLL) manifold external channels. A numerical campaign has been conducted at high magnetic field (Ha = 2000) to analyse the effect of the characteristic parameters on the flow features and pressure loss. Increasing wall conductivity and aspect ratio leads to higher pressure drops, like in a classical rectangular channel, but, in this case, also changes the current pattern in the liquid metal (LM ) which, in turn, generates an altered velocity distribution. Increasing the blockage ratio leads to a point where the gap between the walls is so small that the characteristic MHD velocity profile does not develop, which also happens for the smaller values of the aspect ratio, and a pressure drop decrease.