Simulation and demonstration of magnetohydrodynamic energy conversion in a high-temperature inert gas

The present paper describes high-density magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) energy conversion in a high-temperature seed-free argon plasma, for which a quasi-three-dimensional numerical simulation and a single-pulse shock-tunnel-based demonstration are conducted. The numerical model simulates the two-dimensional profiles of both the electron and the heavy-particle system of the supersonic argon plasma flow, of which the total inflow temperature is 8000 K. The MHD power-generating experiment clarifies the relationship between the plasma quality and the energy conversion efficiency as functions of the total inflow temperature (7600–9600 K) and the applied magnetic flux density (up to 4.0 T). The increase in the total inflow temperature from 7600 to 9400 K and the application of magnetic flux with density of 0.5–1.2 T change the plasma state; unstable behavior accompanied by an inhomogeneous structure is transformed to a homogeneous and stable state, which results in the significant improvement of the power generation performance. Even in low-density magnetic flux, the attained generator performance is comparable or superior to previous results obtained using a conventional low-temperature seeded gas.

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