Numerical simulations of swirling electrovortex flows in cylinders

Abstract

We study swirling electrovortex flows in a cylinder filled with GaInSn metal using axisymmetric and large-scale three-dimensional numerical simulations. In our set-up electrical currents enter and exit the cell symmetrically through wires and the result is a von Kármán-like flow. Three inductionless and an inductive flow regimes are identified. Scaling laws for the magnitude of the velocity in each of these regimes are obtained both numerically and explained theoretically. We study how the aspect ratio of the cell affects the flow and how symmetrically wired cells are different from asymmetrical wired cells. We vary the radius of the connecting wires and propose a simple model that captures how the flow's intensity varies with the wire radius.