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Liquidmetal flows in current collectors for homopolar machines: Fully developed solutions for the primary
azimuthal velocity
Phys. Fluids A 1, 1268 (1989); 10.1063/1.857350
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Hydrodynamic stability threshold of liquid metal current collectors
J, T. Woo and J. F, Pipkins
Interscience, Inc., 105 Jordan Road, Troy, New York 12180
S. H. Brown and N. A. Sondergaard
Dauid Taylor Research Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20084-5000
J. S. Walker
Uniuersity of Illinois, Urbana. lllinois 61801
I, INTRODUCTION grooved piece were exaggerated for clarity. The space in the
Homopolar devices are high-current, low-voltage, elec- radial gap is filled with liquid metal, which is set into rota-
tromechanical energy converters. A number of different tional motion by drag from the rotation of the inner disk and
types of advanced homopolar devices are presently under is maintained in the groove by centrifugal force. Thus, an
development for a variety of applications. [-5 Because the ef- electrical current path is formed between the disk (rotor)
ficiency of such devices is critically dependent on minimiz- and groove (stator). To minimize both electrical and vis-
ing the power losses in the electrical contacts between the cous power losses, the volume of liquid is chosen to fill the
stator and rotor sections, liquid metals have been used in radial gap while occupying a minimum of the axial gap. As a
place of solid brushes as current collectors to provide the result, when the liquid metal is funy distributed in the collec-
electrical path between the concentric rotor and stator sec- tor, there is a free surface in the axial gap between the liquid
tions. At high rotor speeds, the liquid metal current collector metal and a nonreactive cover gas chosen to prevent oxida-
is subject to flow instabilities, (, leading to almost instanta- tion of the liquid metal. Generally, the radius to the liquid
neous ejection of the liquid metal from the current carrying
region, disrupting the operation of the device. A fundamen-
tal understanding of the observed instability of the liquid
metal flow is needed as a basis for determining operational
limits and for developing designs that lead to more stable
operation at high rotor speeds.
The basic geometry we consider in our study is the clas-
sic tongue and groove illustrated schematically in the cross-
sectional view in Fig. 1, in which an inner disk is fitted in the FIG. !. Typical current col-
circumferential groove of the outer disk. In most situations, lector configuration.
the grooved piece is the stator, and the disk is the rotor. In
some designs the role is reversed, with the grooved piece in
rotation over the stationary disk3 (see Fig. 2). In this study,
we consider only the first case, where the grooved piece is the
stator and the disk is the rotor. In Fig. 1, the radial gap of
width d and the axial gap oflength a between the disk and the
4872 J. Appl. Phys.63 (10),15 May 1988 0021 -8979/88/104872-09$02.40 1988 American Institute of Physics 4872
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STATIONARY
ROTATING
CHANNEL CHANNel
pared with previous experimental results; agreement
between theory and experiment is substantial. Some general
conclusions are discussed in Sec. V.
II
the generalized Navier-Stokes equation 7 ,8:
STATIONARY
OISK
au + (u.V)u + (llp)VP = vVzu + Flp, (1)
at
where u is the velocity of the fluid with density p, pressure P,
and kinematic viscosity v, acted upon by a general body
force F. The boundary conditions are determined by the ge-
metal surface R is much greater than d and a. The cover gas ometry of the system.
is also in rotational motion due to drag and, as with the liquid For the specific situation ofintere..'lt, the conducting flu-
metal, the azimuthal flow is a function of the position along id in the region between the rotating disk and the stationary
the axis, since the boundary conditions require the flow to groove is absolutely contained except at the interface with
match both the moving and stationary surface. The centrifu- the inert cover gas between the azimuthally rotating disk and
gal forces give rise to secondary circulation flows in both the the stationary sidewall. As we have already noted, although
liquid metal and the cover gas, which generally have flow the situation will become unstable for sufficiently large dif-
patterns like those shown in Fig. 2. The meridional second- ferences between the azimuthal velocities in the liquid metal
ary flows form vortices superposed on the azimuthal pri- and cover gas, stable equilibrium can be expected to establish
mary flow. In general, we were interested in the stability of itself at lower azimuthal velocities. Therefore, we were pri-
this flow field in response to perturbations. marily interested in the stability ofthe interface at some radi-
A comprehensive pioneering effort to determine the hy- al position R in the axial gap of length a. In cylindrical co-
drodynamic cause of liquid metal instability in current col- ordinates, the primary flow in beth the liquid metal and the
lectors was performed by Eriksson? He noted that the sec- cover gas is in the azimuthal direction given by U",. Because
ondary flows at the interface between the liquid metal and of the finite dimensions of the disk and the groove, which
the cover fluid have opposite directions and attributed the require the flow to vanish at the stationary surfaces and to
ejection instability to the onset of the classical Kelvin-Helm- match the velocity of the rotating disk at the rotating sur-
holtz instability due to shear in the secondary axial flow at face, the azimuthal (primary) flow velocity component is a
the interface. 6 In his experiments, a nonreactive cover liquid function of both the radial and axial position [Le.,
was used instead of the previ.ously described cover gas, but U", = U'" (r,z) J. In addition, there exists secondary flow
the conditions are generally the same. However, Eriksson's with radial Ur = Up (r,z) and axial Uz = Uz (r,z) compo-
interpretation suffers from both qualitative and quantitative nents.
discrepancies. First, Eriksson assumed that the ejection In typical cases of interest, the rotor frequency is about
mode was axisymmetric, but his experimentally observed 60 Hz. The liquid metal is usually a sodium-potassium alloy
instabilities generally lack such symmetry. Second, Eriks- (NaK) with typical kinematic viscosity 'ilL = 7.5 X 10- 7
son's theory3 requires the incorporation of an empirical mul- m 2 Iso Nitrogen is usually used as the inert cover gas with a
tiplicative factor to give quantitative agreement with the ex- typical kinematic viscosity VG = 1.5 X 10- 5 m 2 /s. The axial
perimentally observed stability threshold, especially when gap distance is typically about 1-2 mm. For these param-
the cover fluid is a gas. eters, the Reynolds number in the liquid metal is
Because of these discrepancies, we chose to examine the ReL ::::: 1100, while in the cover gas, ReG Z 60. Therefore, for
stability of the liquid metal collector from the hydrodynamic flow in the liquid metal with this high Reynolds number, we
first principles. Although an externally applied magnetic can expect the bulk of the fluid to rotate as an inviscid, rigid
field generally acts on liquid metal contacts in homopolar body with angular velocity He, where 0 < fie < n.
devices, magneto hydrodynamic effects were not addressed To approximate the velocity profiles of the system we
in this paper but will be treated in future work. The hydrody- first consider the steady, axisymmetric flow of an incom-
namic theory developed in this paper appears to be adequate pressible fluid between a stationary disk and a rotating disk
to predict the observed ejection phenomena and will form at angular frequency equal to .n. 9 For the similarity solu-
the basic mathematicai model to study the effects of magnet- tion,9-11 which holds at one or two gap lengths from the
ic field and gravity on ejection in our future work. interface, the important parameter is the Reynolds number
In Sec. II we characterize the equilibrium flow distribu- Re = fla 2lv, where a is the axial gap length. For small Reyn~
tion in the channel based on considerations of the solution to aIds numbers, V versus axial length z is expected to be lin-
the Navier-Stokes equation in the specific geometry and ear. With increasing Re, U,p vs z acquires an S shape (Fig.
boundary conditions of Fig. 1. In Sec. III we analyze the 3). As Re increases to still higher values/ the Sshape evolves
stability of the equilibrium to obtain a qualitative description into three regions. If the Reynolds number is sufficiently
of the instability and quantitative prediction of the threshold large (i.e., Re> 1), then the flow profile can be separated
for its onset. In Sec. IV, the theoretical predictions are com- into three regions (see Fig 4). The three regions are a
0
4873 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No. 10, 15 May 19B8 Woo eta!. 4873
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f&i regio!'"!
in tiquid mattd
FIG. 3. Typical calculated r-R&
primary azimuthal velocity
profiles U ~ (z) for different
near reg!on
Reynolds numbers.
In liquid metal
II :s ; s R + Dis)
interface at t'= R b&tween fluids
near region in
inert ges
II - 0181 '" r " II
boundary layer at the surface of the rotating disk, an inviscid
core, and a boundary layer along the stationary disk surface. faf region in
inert cover gas
The boundary layer thicknesses are estimated to be of order R-ya
(:5!a _ Re- 1 /2.
As mentioned above, the inviscid core rotates as a rigid
body with angular velocity fie, where 0 < fie < fi. Accord- I boundary layer
~ at rotating disk
boundary Caver
at fixed disk
ingly, the azimuthal velocity in the core is UJ;c = ncr while
the radial velocity of the core Urc is equal to zero. The axial U <} I
I
,ur
~~
'!l,
\ lito
component of velocity Uzc is a negative constant, a uniform
flow from the stationary disk to the rotating disk. The pres-
sure difference neglecting gravity effects is equal to the cen-
FIG. S. Assumed meridional streamlines for radial velocity U, and axial
trifugal force: velocity Uz
Pc = Po + !pn~ r. (2)
The azimuthal velocity profile in the boundary layer
along the rotating disk is shown in Fig. 5. As we move from JP =pn2r>pU~ (4)
the core to the rotating disk, U", must rise from ncr to nr. a, C r'
Since the pressure is continuous through both boundary lay- and this imbalance drives a radially inward flow inside the
ers, the centrifugal force inside the boundary layer at the boundary layer with radial velocity U y < O. The net pumping
rotating disk is larger than the radial pressure gradient: action in the boundary layer next to the rotating and the
- - > -ap
pU! 2 stationary disks is, respectively,
= p n c r. (3)
r
ar
pC Uq//r - n~r) and p(n~r - U~/r). (5)
This pressure imbalance pumps flow radially outward inside
the boundary layer near the rotating disk; thus, Ur > O. To However, the outward and inward flows must cancel
satisfy continuity, Uzc < O.
In the boundary layer near the stationary disk U'" must
La u, dz= 0, (6)
decrease from fie r in the core volume to zero at the fixed
so the core angular velocity n c ' and thus aPe/ar, the core
disk Therefore, the pressure gradient in the boundary layer
pressure differential, reach a steady equilibrium when the
at the stationary disk satisfies the condition
outward and inward flows in the two boundary layers can-
cel.
Qualitatively, the equilibrium solution can be visualized
as illustrated in Fig. 5. In the far regions in both the liquid
I
I
I
Kayo,~ botndary metal and cover gas ( Ir - R I>a), the flow has the similarity
solution described above. In the near region in the cover gas,
I the accumulated, radially outward flow in the boundary lay-
fixed
I {nviscid core
II disk er near the rotating disk must flow across the core ( Uzc < 0)
and enter the boundary layer near the stationary disk. In the
I I near region in the liquid metal, the accumulated, radially
I inward flow in the boundary layer at the stationary disk
I must flow across the core (Uxe < 0) to the boundary layer at
I the rotating disk. These cross flows occur only near the inter-
I face Ir- R I = OCa).
I In both near regions the fluid elements keep a constant
Z = 0 I
~
,,\.j
,L _R::.---
axis of rotation
#'
angular momentumprU.. , unless they are accelerated or de-
celerated due to the viscous shear of the rotating or fixed
disks. The convective derivative of angular momentum for
the azimuthal angular momentum is
FIG. 4. Three regions at high Reynolds number Re between infinite rotat- - D (prU",) =1"{ V U", Uq,) 2
--7 (7)
ing and fixed disk Dt r
4874 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No. 10, 15 May 1988 Wooetal. 4874
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In inviscid regions the angular momentum is
prU.p =/(111), (8a)
where III (r,z) is the Stokes streamfunction for axisymmetric
incompressible flow. The velocities given by
4875 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No.1 0, 15 May 1988 Wooetal. 4875
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a uti> a
-(Sp) +--(Sp) +ur-=o.
Jpo
(lOb)
We can solve for the perturbed pressure 8Pby solving Eqs.
at r JtjJ at (15a) and (ISh) to obtain
SF = ( - (polky) Hu + ky U{)(z)] uy
We assumed that the fluid is incompressible, so that
8p = 0 everywhere except at the interface. Therefore, in both = [ - (Pc1kz) J[UJ + ky Uo(z) JUz , (17)
fluids we have from which we find the relationship:
VU = O. (11)
uzlu y = kJky . (18)
This approximation is nearly true even in the gas at Substituting Eq. (18) into Eq. (16c) results in the expres-
Mach numbers up to ~O.25. We shall assume that the equi- sion:
librium flow is dominated by the rotational motion, and is of
the form . ky dux
U =1---. (19)
y k 2 dx
(12)
Since the density Po is constant in each fluid except at the
where U Ow is the rotor speed at the interface. For the azi-
interface, we find that the radial component of the flow is
muthal primary flow representation, the perturbed equa-
governed by the following general equation in each region:
tions of motion reduce to
(16c)
4876 J. AppL Phys., Vol. 63, No.1 0, 15 May i 988 WooetaJ. 4876
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IntegratingEq. (25) betweenR - andR + EandaHowing root sign represents the discontinuity in the centrifugal force
..... O where R is the interface, we obtain term across the interface and the surface tension between the
liquid and gas phase (cover gas). Both are stabilizing for the
PO dux (x) )
Il.R ( kT[m+kyUo(z)] dx case of a dense fluid (liquid metal) supported by a less dense
fluid (cover gas). The second term under the square root
x k 2 u (R)Il. [PoU~(z)IR]
R symbol which is proportionalto [U OL (z) - U OG (z)] 2 is as~
+------=-----=-
[@+kyUO(Z)]R sodated with coupling of the primary flow velocity into the
Tk 4 ux (RR) perturbations and is always destabilizing. This term is the
+ =0, (26) source of the Kel vin-Helmhol tz instability. 6 In general, be-
[m + ky UO(Z)]R cause of the different dependence of quantities under the
where square root sign on the wave propagation constant k, insta~
biHty can occur in regions of the k spectrum when the sum of
the quantities under the square root sign is negative.
The stability threshold is obtained from Eq. (31) as
is th.e jump or discontinuity that the function f( x) experi.
ences at r = R. Also, it sh.ould be noted that the relationship
[UOL(z) -
~
Po (U~L (z)
UOG(z)]~<-
Tk y )
+--, (32)
holds: PL kyR PL
Il.R{uJ[ m + k" ~)(z}]) = 0, (27) where we have made the approximation ky ~ k and have as-
so that the function is continuous at the interface. Making sumed thatpL >PG andpL U~L >pG U6G' The initial unsta-
use of this continuity condition and the solutions for the ble mode is given by the minimum of the right side of Eq.
perturbed radial flow velocity on either side given by Eqs. (31) with respect to ky:
(22) and (23), the two arbitrary constants ALand A G are (33)
related by
Upon substituting the expression for ky into Eq. (32) and
AG = -AL [m + kyUoG(z)] sinh(kd) . (28) changing the inequality sign to an equal sign, we obtain the
[m+kyUOL<z)] sinh(kR) following criterion for determining the onset of i.nstability:
Evaluating the jump condition in Eq. (27) and making use [UOL (z) - UOG (z)] 2 = 2(PL T)li2UOL (Z)/PGR 1/2
ofEqs. (22), (23), and (28) to obtain the derivatives of the
(34)
perturbed flow velocity, we find
If the azimuthal velocity profiles analogous to those in Fig. 7
{PL [@+ky UoL (z)l}2coth(kd} (29)
are assumed for the primary flow the following approxima-
+ {Po [(j) + ky UOG (z) JP coth(kR) tions can be used where U Ow is the rotary velocity at the
- ka R {Po[ Uo2 (z)IR ]} - k 3T = 0, interface:
where the subscripts Land G denote the liquid metal and (UOL (z) - UOG (Z)]2 = a2U~w' (35)
cover gas, respectively. In the asymptotic limit for = PUow ,
UOL (z)
kR> kd> 1, this equation reduces to:
where a = /3.
2
[PLUOL(Z) +PoUoa(z)j This approximation gives results that agree well with
m
2
+ 2kyC!.l -=-----~---...::.. experiment, as will be discussed later. Equation (34) re-
(PL +Pa)
duces to the following equations, using the above approxi-
k 2 .::.[P_L_U_O_I__2_(Z_}_+_P,-o_U_~G_(Z_).;:;..] mations ofEq, (35):
+ y
(PL+PO)
(36a)
kti}! {p()r U~ (z)/R ]}
(30)
fiO,C<it = 2(p[.1)1!2IPoR 3/2, (36b)
This is a quadratic equation in the frequency (f) of the pertur- and
bation, which has the solution:
UO,Cfit = Rno,cft! .
_ k [PL UOL (z) + Po Uoo (z)]
ill = U O.erit is the critical velocity at the interface in meters
Y (PL +PG) per second at instability, and flo,cril is the critical angular
{ k
(PL +Pa)
[t:.R(poU~(Z)+k2TJ
R
velocity at which instability occurs.
The equation for the critical velocity U a.cn, predicts that
the initial ejection point is inversely proportional to the
4877 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No. 10, i5 May 1988 Woo etal. 4877
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developed by Eriksson 3 based on a secondary flow mecha- theoretic..'
ejection dets ICarr'z) ejection speed
nism will also be discussed.
40 m~ water
11 31') m~ water
IV. COMPARISON OF THEORETICAllY PREDICTED A 2Ilmlwal.., _.- present study
o 10mlw!!te, FIG. 9. Torque vs current
AND EXPERIMENTAL EJECTION
2.25 ~~;::;~=;:=::;:::::=:::::: collector speed (rpm) with
We have compared the stability threshold predicted
from the present study [see Eq. (36a) J with ejection points
rt1
1,511,pm~
I :
water and cover gas of ni-
trogen. Rotor
ter= 316.0 mm; axial
diame-
theoretica~
eject,on speed
speed
i 0.33$ I
I
I
ter == 228.6 mm; axial
clearance ~~ 1.52 mm; radi-
~ 0.226 I 3,341 rpm-I
I al clearance = 1.27 mm;
g 11.113 ("ppe, limit! I
FIG. 8. Cross section of typical experimental apparatus to measure ejection 2' 3.823 rpm I
rotor width at tip 3.18 mm.
instability and typical experimental curve of torque vs speed. At critical S
speed C, the fluid is ejected from the channel and the torque drops. rBvolutjons per minute
4878 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No.1 0, 15 May 1988 Wooetal. 4878
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theon!ltica! nitrogen, Typical values were used for the density of NaK
.I_cden data (CG.rr12~ ejection speed
alloy, PL (850 kg/m3), the density of nitrogen PG (1.25 kg!
1130 ml WSt61"
.. 20 mE water ~ ~ Eriks80nl m 3 ), and the surface tension T (0.110 N/m). The basic sec-
o10 ml water ~._ pr&sent study tional geometry as well as important dimensions are present-
o dry
1. 13O,---.-..---...--.,..--,---r---. FIG. 11. Torque vs current ed in the figure. The possible range of ejection values calcu-
collector speed (rpm) with lated by Eriksson's theory are compared with the threshold
1.G17
water and cover gas of ni-
o,!l!)if predicted by this theory.
trogen. Rotor diame-
~ O.-n1 ter = 320.8 mm; axial Eriksson's predicted range of values gives lower ejection
~ 0.678 clearance = 1.524 mm; ra- speeds than the experimental data, whereas the present theo-
1:
dial clearance C~ 0.51 mm; ry provides a good engineering estimate for the ejection of
J:~:t
~ 0.339,
rotor width at tip = 4.85
mm.
the liquid, The dashed lines show the maximum and mini-
mum ranges of ejection values determined by the range of
'" C.22G
S secondary flow profiles compiled and presented by Eriksson
11.113
based on his theory. The reader should consult work by
G.O '----7.;;'.;;;-----;;=---;;;;!;;;;----;=~5000=...
revohJtions per minut9
Eriksson for more details. Even with the use of an empirical
correction factor Eriksson's theory predicts a range of
threshold values that are much lower in angular speeds than
experimental data.
30 ml of water, There was little or no effect between sample Figure 11 presents the torque speed curve with water
sizes of 10 and 20 ml and between 30 and 40 ml. and a cover gas of nitrogen at liquid sample sizes of 10, 20,
Using the theory presented in this paper, the stability and 30 m!. The figure insert is a sectional diagram of the
threshold for the geometry of Fig. 9 was calculated to be rotor tip. Figure 12 presents the torque versus speed curve
2064 rpm. This threshold value depends only on the density with NaK and a cover gas of nitrogen.
of the two fluids, the surface tension of the liquid metal, the In all cases, the predictions of our theory agree well with
rotor radius, and the assumed azimuthal flow profiles at the the data, but the threshold predicted by Eriksson is generally
interface based on reasonable hydrodynamic arguments. In too low.
contrast, Eriksson's3 theory requires additional specifica-
tion of the collector axial clearance, and the kinematic vis-
cosity ofliquid and cover gas. Eriksson's theory also requires v. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
the incorporation of an empirical fractional factor in the We have presented an alternative mechanism for dis-
mathematical expressions to obtain reasonable agreements. ruption of the stable liquid flow field in a liquid-metal cur-
He arbitrarily replaces the term (Pzlpl - .011.02) in his rent conector due to excitation of the Kelvin-Helmholtz in-
mathematical formulation for ejection by 8 [1 - 2.5 (PII stability. This mechanism gives reasonable agreement with
.02), where PI is the density of the cover gas and P2 is the experimental data. It differs from the mechanism presented
density of the liquid metal. This empirical replacement keeps previously by Eriksson, 3 although the Kelvin-Helmholtz in-
(.02/.01 - P llpl) from becoming very large when PI is small stability 6 is used in both theories as the basic mode for ejec-
as in this problem, tion. This theory is based on the difference in azimuthal pri-
Figure 10 presents an experimental ejection curve of ro- mary flow velocity between the liquid metal and cover gas at
tor torque versus collector rotor speed with a sample size of9 the interface as the driving mechanism of the instability.
ml of sodium potassium alloy (NaK). The inert gas was Eriksson's theory uses the difference in counterstreaming
secondary meridional flow velocities at the interface
between the liquid meta! and cover gas as the driving mecha-
th.o,etical
nism of the instability. Because the primary flow term in the
"lactic" data !C.",12) election .p....d linear instability theory, when related to the current collec-
6 ml Na/( - - Erlklllio,,3 tor problem, will be a hundred times larger than the second-
.... 4 ml NaK
II or 2 m! NaK _. - p.8nnt study
ary flow term, it seemed reasonable to expect that the pri-
mary azimuthal flow would be the dominant mode of
FIG. 12. Torque vs current
I collector speed (rpm) with ejection, and that a theory of ejection should be based on this
1"-2,706 I1'm
sodillm-potassium alloy mechanism. We believe this is the fundamental reason that
';: I (NaK) and cover gas ofni- Eriksson's theory, based on the secondary driven flow insta-
~~ G.4&! I[UJ I trogen. Rotor diame-
ter = 127.0 mm; axial
bility, required the arbitrary correction factor to place it in
I i
i" c.m
o clearance c= 1.52 mm; radi- the experimentally observed frequency ranges.
I al clearance = 0.508 mm; To calculate the critical ejection point it is necessary to
'!:.
..~t).226 ! I rotor width at lip = 4.85 determine the equilibrium flow velocity profile across the
I ....i mm.
interface. Approximations to these profiles for the liquid
2 I ~ metal and cover gas are estimated from hydrodynamic theo-
0.113 I
I ry based on the principle of conservation of angular momen-
().oUa~~~~~~~~
2.000 4.000 6.000 8.000 10.000
tum, for flow between two infinite disks in which one disk is
revolutions per minute rotating and the other disk is stationary. In Eriksson's theo-
4879 J. AppL Phys., Vol. 63, No. 10, 15 May 1988 Woo etai. 4879
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ry (based on counterstreaming secondary flow at the inter- Furthermore, the appropriate Reynolds number for the
face), the calculation is based on base flow profiles he pre- liquid or gas is not obvious because R G, and Re may not be
sented in the literature3 between two infinite disks. the same for the gas with b.r = OCR), !lz = a, and for the
Comparisons of both theories with experimental results liquid with fl.r = 0(0), ru: = o.
show some noticeable trends. In the present theory, the Finally, there is the question of the appropriate bound-
change in the primary azimuthal flow velocity across the ary condition at the liquid and gas interface. From the usual
interface is sufficiently rapid that it can be represented by a considerations of the boundary condition at the free surface
discontinuity. The theoretically estimated ejection value (see, for instance, Landau and Liftshitz7 ), the free surface
provides for a practical engineering estimate in all cases COI1- will be in the shape of a concave surface. For ease oftheoreti-
sidered (sec Figs. 9-12). The range of threshold values cal- cal development, we represented the interface as a fiat, hori-
culated for Eriksson's theory using the correction factor zontal plane. Such simplification obviously contributes
tends to underestimate the experimental ejection point. The towards inability to accurately determine the equilibrium
maximum range of ejection points in some cases is in the distribution.
range of experimental data. However, these maximum val- At a more specific level, the equilibrium flow must also
ues still do not agree as well with the experimental data as the depend on the cross-sectional shape of the channel in which
present theory based on the radial gradient of the primary the liquid metal is situated. To more accurately determine
flow profiles across the interface. The minimum range of the the stability threshold would require numerical solution of
ejection points calculated from Eriksson's theory is general- the Navier-Stokes equation in a particular configuration,
ly too low. which, in principle, can always be done.
Because the ejection of liquid metal from the current The nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations are being solved
collector can seriously affect the operation of homo polar de- numerically for specific rotor and stator cross sections to
vices, it is very important to be able to predict the stabiHty develop high performance designs. However, we believe that
threshold with reasonable accuracy. The experimental data the model presented [Eq. (36)} describes the important,
exhibit a general tendency toward greater stability with in- basic considerations for the development of such designs.
creased filling of liquid metal; however, operationally, to
minimize frictional losses, it is desirable to minimize the vol- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ume of liquid metal in the system. Although the present the- The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. F.
ory does take into account the volume of liquid metal J. Young, President of Scientific Division of Frontier Timber
through the (11R) 3/2 dependence of the critical frequency Co., Bradford, PA, for helpful discussions on this topic. This
[Eq. 36(b) L it does not adequately predict some of the fine work was supported in part by the David Taylor Naval Ship
features observed experimentally. For example, in the data Research and Development Center under Contract No.
of Fig. 9, there is a pronounced effect when the sample size is NOO167-85-C-0015 and the IR/IED program at
increased from 20 to 30 ml, but change of sample size from DTNSRDC.
10 to 20 mI, or from 30-40 mI, has very little effect, if any. On
the other hand, the data in Fig. 11 exhibit a more consistent
trend toward increase in the stability threshold with in-
creased filling level.
We believe that the dependence of the stability thresh-
old on filling level is determined by the details of the equilib- JH. o. Stevens, M. J. Superczynski, T. J. Doyle, J. R Harrison, and H.
Messinger, IEEE Trans. Magn. 13, 269 (1977).
rium flow profiles in the channels, which were not accounted 'T. J. Doyle, J. H. Harrison, and A. Cha.ikin, in Star Symposium, Naval
for in the present theory. In more general terms, we have Arch. Mar. Engr. Spring Mceting, New London, CT (Society of Naval
constructed the equilibrium solution by assuming that the Architects and Marine Engineers. New York, 1978), pp. 1-7.
flow field consists of a far region and a near region in each 'J.-T. Eriksson, in Electrical Engineering Series, no. 48. edited by M. Luuk-
kala (The Finnish Academy of Tcchnical Sciences. Helsinki, Finland,
fluid across the interface. For a typical filling levels, the radi- 1982).
al dimension of the liquid is comparable to the axial width of 4H. O. Stevens and M. J. Cannell, David Taylor Naval Ship Research and
the gap. Therefore, there is no really identifiable far region Dcve\opnwnt Center, Report No. DTNSRDC/PAS-81-14, Bethesda,
MD (1981).
for the liquid metal. Thus, the equilibrium flow never
'R. 1.. Rhodenizer, Final Report, Task 4 and 5, General Electric Co., Con-
achieves the similarity solution far from r = R. Instead, it tract No. NOO024-68-C-5415 (1971), pro 7-35.
must satisfy U", = 0 at the top of the wall. This brings in the oS. Chandrasekhar. Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability (Claren-
corner (see Fig. 1), which is related to the excess volume of don, London, 1961), Chap. 11.
'1.. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Fluid Mechanics (Pergamon, Reading,
the liquid metal. When the excess volume is small, (arl ru:)
MA,1959).
is small, the top wall has a strong influence, and U 0[, is re- KG. K. Batchelor, An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (Cambridge Univer-
duced everywhere, including r = R. With a large excess vol- sity Press, Cambridge, London, 1967).
ume, (b.rI !lz) is large and there is a paraHellength of rotor "T. H. Von Karman, Z. Ang. Math. Mech. 1, 233 (1921).
lOG. K. Batchelor, Q. J. Meeh. App!. Math. 4, 29 (1951),
and stator with liquid metal so a shear ftow is established. lie. J. Stephenson, J. Fluid Mech. 38, 355 (1969).
Therefore, U OL is everywhere larger and the interface is 12S. L Carr, David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center,
more stable. Rep. No. PAS-77-17 (1977).
4880 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 63, No. 10, 15 May 1988 Woo etal. 4880
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