Influence of induced magnetic field on thermal MHD flow

Abstract

This paper studies the influence of an induced magnetic field on the forced convective heat transfer from an isothermal sphere in the presence of an applied magnetic field. Irrespective of the choice of magnetic Reynolds number, the induced magnetic field is also taken into consideration and, therefore, we have solved the full-magnetohydrodynamic equations in (?-?-A) formulation. We have used a higher order numerical scheme with compact stencil in spherical polar coordinates for discretization. We have observed that the application of magnetic field on the flow has a twofold effect. Firstly the recirculation bubble vanishes, and secondly it alters the heat transfer coefficient. In particular, the heat transfer gets enhanced near the top of the sphere, while in the upstream and downstream regions, it diminishes. We have also found that the magnetic Reynolds number aids in the reduction of heat transfer. Our results on the heat transfer coefficient in the liquid sodium flow problem concur with the available experimental data. Further, we have observed that the effect of magnetic Reynolds number on a low Pr fluid is negligible. � 2015 Copyright � Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.