Numerical Calculations of Liquid-Metal Magnetohydrodynamic Flows Through Inclined Inlet/Outlet Circular Channels

Numerical calculations have been conducted on liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows through a circular pipe entering or leaving an obliquely magnetic field, in order to simulate MHD flows entering/leaving a fusion reactor blanket through inlet/outlet pipes inclined in the toroidal direction (Type-T model) and the poloidal direction (Type-P model). The main purpose of this study is to examine where the loss coefficient (i.e. the pressure drop) through the magnetic field inlet/outlet regions can be decreased by the inclined inflow/outflow, compared with those by the perpendicular (normal) inflow/outflow, or not. Conservation equations of fluid mass and fluid momentum, and the Poisson equation for electrical potential have been solved numerically. The loss coefficient (i.e. the pressure drop) for the inclined inlet/outlet flows in the Type-T model (inclined in the toroidal direction) is smaller than those for the perpendicular (normal) inlet/outlet channel flows, though the loss coefficient for the inclined inlet/outlet channel flows in the Type-P model (inclined to the poloidal direction) is larger than those for the perpendicular (normal) inlet/outlet channel flows.