Instabilities in Extreme Magnetoconvection

Abstract

Thermal convection in an electrically conducting fluid (for example, a liquid metal) in the presence of a static magnetic field is considered in this chapter. The focus is on the extreme states of the flow, in which both buoyancy and Lorentz forces are very strong. It is argued that the instabilities occurring in such flows are often of unique and counter-intuitive nature due to the action of the magnetic field, which suppresses conventional turbulence and gives preference to two-dimensional instability modes not appearing in more conventional convection systems. Tools of numerical analysis suitable for such flows are discussed.

Computational MHD analyses in support of the design of the WCLL TBM breeding zone

“…Volumetric heating in the BU creates strong temperature gradients in the radial direction that will cause the onset of magneto-convective phenomena. These can affect the flow features by modifying the velocity profile and provoking instabilities, even at the high magnetic field expected in fusion reactors [46]. Recent numerical analyses dealing with this aspect in a geometry close to the WCLL TBM can be found in Ref.…”