Investigation of Magneto Hydrodynamic Natural Convection Flows in a 3-D Rectangular Enclosure

The article deals with magnetic field of free convective flows in cavities similar to those used in artificial growth of single crystals from melts (horizontal Bridgman configurations) and having aspect ratios an equal to “4”. The combined effect of wall electrical conductivity and vertical direction of the magnetic field on the buoyancy induced flow of mercury was investigated numerically. The validation of the numerical method was achieved by comparison with both experimental and analytical data found in the literature. The plotted results for variation of velocity, temperature and Nusselt number in terms of the Hartmann number Ha and Rayleigh number “Ra” showed a considerable decrease in convection intensity as the magnetic field is increased, especially for values of “Gr” situated around 107. The calculations also showed that the vertically directed magnetic field (perpendicular to the x-z plane) is the most effective in controlling the flow and hence the speed of growth of the crystal. Also, wall electrical conductivity enhances damping by changing the distribution of the induced electric current to one which augments the magnitude of the Lorentz force.