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An analytical study of the plasma conditions and performance of an MHD generator
Author(s) -
Murakami Tomoyuki,
Nakata Yoshitaka,
Okuno Yoshihiro,
Yamasaki Hiroyuki
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
electrical engineering in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1520-6416
pISSN - 0424-7760
DOI - 10.1002/eej.10196
Subject(s) - plasma , instability , magnetohydrodynamic generator , magnetohydrodynamics , ionization , limiting , generator (circuit theory) , mechanics , electron , physics , limiter , computational physics , power (physics) , materials science , thermodynamics , engineering , ion , electrical engineering , nuclear physics , mechanical engineering , quantum mechanics
In order to investigate the effects of plasma conditions on fluid‐dynamical prediction of the performance of an MHD generator, local steady‐state calculations are employed. The effective Hall parameter and effective electrical conductivity are estimated by taking the linear theory of ionization instability into account. The results of analytical calculations are compared with experimental ones. Although a fully ionized seed condition, which suppresses instability, provides the highest power generation performance, the condition could be realized only at a high seed fraction in the experiments. It is suggested by the analysis that the fully ionized seed plasma produced at a low seed fraction is desirable in order to achieve high performance. The analysis implies that instability due to insufficient or excessive electron temperatures is a performance‐limiting factor. The effects of plasma conditions on performance are clearly explained by the present simple analysis. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 144(2): 9–15, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10196