Calculation of magnetic field and electromagnetic forces in MHD superconducting magnets

A superconducting prototype magnet for MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) energy conversion is under development in Italy. The authors discuss analytical methods developed at the Department of Electrical Engineering of Padova University for calculating magnetic field and electromagnetic forces in MHD superconducting magnets and utilized in the preliminary design of the prototype. Due to the flexibility, speed, and ease of use of the corresponding computer programs, the described analytical methods for field computation proved to be useful in rapid parametric studies in the preliminary design of superconducting magnets with cylindrical or rectangular saddle coils. Some examples of application are presented concerning the choice of the number and shape of coils and the evaluation of the far field of the prototype magnet