Effects of external magnetic field on flow separation, control and reattachment

Abstract

The paper attempts to analyze the effect of transverse magnetic field on flow over a backward-facing inclined step using the open-source CFD solver OpenFOAM. The equations governing the twodimensional, incompressible, laminar, electrically conducting flow are discretized and solved using the PISO algorithm. The simulations are conducted for various backward step angles (10 • ≤ α ≤ 90 • ) and Hartmann Numbers (0 ≤ M ≤ 30) at fixed kinematic (Re) and magnetic (Rem) Reynolds Numbers of 100 and 0.04 respectively. The influence of step angle and Hartmann number on the reattachment length is explored with the help of streamlines, streamwise pressure gradient, and velocity profiles.