A numerical study on characteristics of the magnetohydrodynamic micropumps

This paper presents a particular type of fluid flow called MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) in micropumps. The micropump consists of a micro scaled rectangular channel with side walled electrodes for applying electric current and transverse magnetic field perpendicular to the electric field. This continuous flow is the result of Lorentz force, perpendicular to both magnetic and electric fields, which propels the electrically conductive liquid through the channel. The effects of varying width and depth of the channel on flow rate, maximum pressure generation, and energy consumption rate at a constant electric current are studied. Having assumed that the flow is laminar, incompressible, and three-dimensional, finite volume method (FVM) is used to solve the 3D governing equations. It is found that changing width and depth, respectively, show linear and nonlinear behavior with respect to the studied parameters. For validation of the obtained code, a comparison between our calculations and experimental and numerical calculations of previous researchers is done and showed a good quantitative agreement.