The DRBEM solution of incompressible MHD flow equations

This paper presents a dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) formulation coupled with an implicit backward difference time integration scheme for the solution of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow equations. The governing equations are the coupled system of Navier‐Stokes equations and Maxwell's equations of electromagnetics through Ohm's law. We are concerned with a stream function‐vorticity‐magnetic induction‐current density formulation of the full MHD equations in 2D. The stream function and magnetic induction equations which are poisson‐type, are solved by using DRBEM with the fundamental solution of Laplace equation. In the DRBEM solution of the time‐dependent vorticity and current density equations all the terms apart from the Laplace term are treated as nonhomogeneities. The time derivatives are approximated by an implicit backward difference whereas the convective terms are approximated by radial basis functions. The applications are given for the MHD flow, in a square cavity and in a backward‐facing step. The numerical results for the square cavity problem in the presence of a magnetic field are visualized for several values of Reynolds, Hartmann and magnetic Reynolds numbers. The effect of each parameter is analyzed with the graphs presented in terms of stream function, vorticity, current density and magnetic induction contours. Then, we provide the solution of the step flow problem in terms of velocity field, vorticity, current density and magnetic field for increasing values of Hartmann number. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution to transient Navier–Stokes equations by the coupling of differential quadrature time integration scheme with dual reciprocity boundary element method

The two‐dimensional time‐dependent Navier–Stokes equations in terms of the vorticity and the stream function are solved numerically by using the coupling of the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) in space with the differential quadrature method (DQM) in time. In DRBEM application, the convective and the time derivative terms in the vorticity transport equation are considered as the nonhomogeneity in the equation and are approximated by radial basis functions. The solution to the Poisson equation, which links stream function and vorticity with an initial vorticity guess, produces velocity components in turn for the solution to vorticity transport equation. The DRBEM formulation of the vorticity transport equation results in an initial value problem represented by a system of first‐order ordinary differential equations in time. When the DQM discretizes this system in time direction, we obtain a system of linear algebraic equations, which gives the solution vector for vorticity at any required time level. The procedure outlined here is also applied to solve the problem of two‐dimensional natural convection in a cavity by utilizing an iteration among the stream function, the vorticity transport and the energy equations as well. The test problems include two‐dimensional flow in a cavity when a force is present, the lid‐driven cavity and the natural convection in a square cavity. The numerical results are visualized in terms of stream function, vorticity and temperature contours for several values of Reynolds (Re) and Rayleigh (Ra) numbers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution of magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rectangular duct by Chebyshev collocation method

In this study, matrix representation of the Chebyshev collocation method for partial differential equation has been represented and applied to solve magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow equations in a rectangular duct in the presence of transverse external oblique magnetic field. Numerical solution of velocity and induced magnetic field is obtained for steady‐state, fully developed, incompressible flow for a conducting fluid inside the duct. The Chebyshev collocation method is used with a reasonable number of collocations points, which gives accurate numerical solutions of the MHD flow problem. The results for velocity and induced magnetic field are visualized in terms of graphics for values of Hartmann number H≤1000. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary element method solution of MHD flow in a rectangular duct

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a rectangular duct with an external magnetic field applied transverse to the flow has been investigated. The walls parallel to the applied magnetic field are conducting while the other two walls which are perpendicular to the field are insulators. The boundary element method (BEM) with constant elements has been used to cast the problem into the form of an integral equation over the boundary and to obtain a system of algebraic equations for the boundary unknown values only. The solution of this integral equation presents no problem as encountered in the solution of the singular integral equations for interior methods. Computations have been carried out for several values of the Hartmann number (1 ? M ? 10). It is found that as M increases, boundary layers are formed close to the insulated boundaries for both the velocity and the induced magnetic field and in the central part their behaviours are uniform. Selected graphs are given showing the behaviours of the velocity and the induced magnetic field.     

Time‐domain BEM solution of convection–diffusion‐type MHD equations

The two‐dimensional convection–diffusion‐type equations are solved by using the boundary element method (BEM) based on the time‐dependent fundamental solution. The emphasis is given on the solution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) duct flow problems with arbitrary wall conductivity. The boundary and time integrals in the BEM formulation are computed numerically assuming constant variations of the unknowns on both the boundary elements and the time intervals. Then, the solution is advanced to the steady‐state iteratively. Thus, it is possible to use quite large time increments and stability problems are not encountered. The time‐domain BEM solution procedure is tested on some convection–diffusion problems and the MHD duct flow problem with insulated walls to establish the validity of the approach. The numerical results for these sample problems compare very well to analytical results. Then, the BEM formulation of the MHD duct flow problem with arbitrary wall conductivity is obtained for the first time in such a way that the equations are solved together with the coupled boundary conditions. The use of time‐dependent fundamental solution enables us to obtain numerical solutions for this problem for the Hartmann number values up to 300 and for several values of conductivity parameter. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MHD rotating flow of a viscous fluid over a shrinking surface

This study is concerned with the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) rotating boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid caused by the shrinking surface. Homotopy analysis method (HAM) is employed for the analytic solution. The similarity transformations have been used for reducing the partial differential equations into a system of two coupled ordinary differential equations. The series solution of the obtained system is developed and convergence of the results are explicitly given. The effects of the parameters M, s and λ on the velocity fields are presented graphically and discussed. It is worth mentioning here that for the shrinking surface the stable and convergent solutions are possible only for MHD flows.     

BEM solution to magnetohydrodynamic flow in a semi‐infinite duct

We consider the magnetohydrodynamic flow that is laminar and steady of a viscous, incompressible, and electrically conducting fluid in a semi‐infinite duct under an externally applied magnetic field. The flow is driven by the current produced by a pressure gradient. The applied magnetic field is perpendicular to the semi‐infinite walls that are kept at the same magnetic field value in magnitude but opposite in sign. The wall that connects the two semi‐infinite walls is partly non‐conducting and partly conducting (in the middle). A BEM solution was obtained using a fundamental solution that enables to treat the magnetohydrodynamic equations in coupled form with general wall conductivities. The inhomogeneity in the equations due to the pressure gradient was tackled, obtaining a particular solution, and the BEM was applied with a fundamental solution of coupled homogeneous convection–diffusion type partial differential equations. Constant elements were used for the discretization of the boundaries (y = 0, ?a ? x ? a) and semi‐infinite walls at x = ±a, by keeping them as finite since the boundary integral equations are restricted to these boundaries due to the regularity conditions as y → ∞ . The solution is presented in terms of equivelocity and induced magnetic field contours for several values of Hartmann number (M), conducting length (l), and non‐conducting wall conditions (k). The effect of the parameters on the solution is studied. Flow rates are also calculated for these values of parameters. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow on a half-plane

We investigate the magnetohydrodynamic flow (MHD) on the upper, half of a non-conducting plane for the case when the flow is driven by the current produced by an electrode placed in the middle of the plane. The applied magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane, the flow is laminar, uniform, steady and incompressible. An analytical solution has been developed for the velocity field and the induced magnetic field by reducing the problem to the solution of a Fredholm's integral equation of the second kind, which has been solved numerically. Infinite integrals occurring in the kernel of the integral equation and in the velocity and magnetic field were approximated for large Hartmann numbers by using Bessel functions. As the Hartmann number M increases, boundary layers are formed near the non-conducting boundaries and a parabolic boundary layer is developed in the interface region. Some graphs are given to show examples of this behaviour.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow in an infinite channel

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in an infinite channel, under an applied magnetic field has been investigated. The MHD flow between two parallel walls is of considerable practical importance because of the utility of induction flowmeters. The walls of the channel are taken perpendicular to the magnetic field and one of them is insulated, the other is partly insulated, partly conducting. An analytical solution has been developed for the velocity field and magnetic field by reducing the problem to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which has been solved numerically. Solutions have been obtained for Hartmann numbers M up to 200. All the infinite integrals obtained are transformed to finite integrals which contain modified Bessel functions of the second kind. So, the difficulties associated with the computation of infinite integrals with oscillating integrands which arise for large M have been avoided. It is found that, as M increases, boundary layers are formed near the nonconducting boundaries and in the interface region for both velocity and magnetic fields, and a stagnant region in front of the conducting boundary is developed for the velocity field. Selected graphs are given showing these behaviours.     

Natural convection in porous media—dual reciprocity boundary element method solution of the Darcy model

This paper describes the solution of a steady state natural convection problem in porous media by the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM). The boundary element method (BEM) for the coupled set of mass, momentum, and energy equations in two dimensions is structured by the fundamental solution of the Laplace equation. The dual reciprocity method is based on augmented scaled thin plate splines. Numerical examples include convergence studies with different mesh size, uniform and non‐uniform mesh arrangement, and constant and linear boundary field discretizations for differentially heated rectangular cavity problems at filtration with Rayleigh numbers of Ra*=25, 50, and 100 and aspect ratios of A=1/2, 1, and 2. The solution is assessed by comparison with reference results of the fine mesh finite volume method (FVM). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于边界值方法的微分动力系统数值计算方法

对高维非线性初值问题,微分求积法在每一步的积分过程中需要求解一个更高维的非线性方程组,因而计算量巨大。基于微分求积法与边界值方法两者之间的关系,可以将广义向后差分方法和扩展的隐式梯形积分方法看作是经典微分求积法的稀疏表达形式。将广义向后差分方法以及扩展的隐式梯形积分方法这两类边界值方法应用于微分动力系统的数值计算,提出了一类新的数值计算方法。理论分析及算例结果表明,对高维非线性微分初值问题的数值计算,本文方法相对于经典的微分求积法具有更高的计算效率。     

Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method for Magnetohydrodynamic Flow Using Radial Basis Functions

A dual reciprocity boundary element method is given to obtain the solution in terms of velocity and induced magnetic field for the study of MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) flow through a rectangular duct having insulating walls. The equations are transformed to two types of nonlinear Poisson equations and the right-hand sides in these equations are approximated using combinations of two classes of radial basis functions (the value of the function and its normal derivatives are utilized for approximation). Computations are carried out for several values of the Hartman number (0 h M h 10) by using constant boundary elements. Comparisons are made for two types of formulations and for traditional and osculatory type approximations of the right-hand side functions. It is found that osculatory interpolation gives better results than traditional interpolation and the type of the Poisson equation, which contains derivative of the unknown function, is better than the other type, which contains unknown function only. The results for velocity and induced magnetic field are illustrated by some selected graphs.     

Hydromagnetic flow in a rotating channel

The steady flow in a parallel plate channel rotating with an angular velocity Ω and subjected to a constant transverse magnetic field is analysed. An exact solution of the governing equations is obtained. The solution in the dimensionless form contains two parameters: the Hartmann number, M ², and K ² which is the reciprocal of the Ekman number. The effects of these parameters on the velocity and magnetic field distributions are studied. For large values of the parameters, there arise thin boundary layers on the walls of the channel.     

Thermal radiation effects on MHD flow past a semi-infinite inclined plate in the presence of mass diffusion

MHD mixed free-forced heat and mass convective steady incompressible laminar boundary layer flow of a gray optically thick electrically conducting viscous fluid past a semi-infinite inclined plate for high temperature and concentration differences is studied. A uniform magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the plate. The density of the fluid is assumed to reduce exponentially with temperature and concentration. The usual Boussinesq approximation is neglected due to the high temperature and concentration differences between the plate and the ambient fluid. The Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. The boundary layer equations governing the flow are reduced to ordinary differential equations, which are numerically solved by applying an efficient technique. The effects of the density/temperature parameter n, the density/concentration parameter m, the local magnetic parameter M_x and the radiation parameter R are examined on the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions as well as the coefficients of skin-friction, heat flux and mass flux.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rectangular duct

The magnetohydrodynamic flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid in a rectangular duct, with an external magnetic field applied transverse to the flow, has been investigated. One of the duct's boundaries which is perpendicular to the magnetic field is taken partly insulated, partly conducting. An analytical solution has been developed for the velocity field and magnetic field by reducing the problem to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which has been solved numerically. Solutions have been obtained for Hartmann numbers M up to 100. All the infinite series obtained are transformed to infinite integrals first and then to finite integrals which contain modified Bessel functions of the second kind. In this way, the difficulties associated with the computation of infinite integrals with oscillating integrands and slowly converging infinite series, the convergence of which is further affected for large values of M, have been avoided. It is found that, as M increases, boundary layers are formed near the non-conducting boundaries and in the interface region, and a stagnant region is developed in front of the conducting boundary for velocity field. The maximm value of magnetic field takes place on the conducting part. These behaviours are shown on some graphs.     

MHD stagnation-point flow and heat transfer towards stretching sheet with induced magnetic field

The problem of the steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation-point flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over a stretching sheet is studied. The effect of an induced magnetic field is taken into account. The nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations via the similarity transformation. The transformed boundary layer equations are solved numerically using the shooting method. Numerical results are obtained for various magnetic parameters and Prandtl numbers. The effects of the induced magnetic field on the skin friction coefficient, the local Nusselt number, the velocity, and the temperature profiles are presented graphically and discussed in detail.     

Spontaneous rotation in the exact solution of magnetohydrodynamic equations for flow between two stationary impermeable disks

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a viscous electrically conducting incompressible fluid between two stationary impermeable disks is considered. A homogeneous electric current density vector normal to the surface is specified on the upper disk, and the lower disk is nonconducting. The exact von Karman solution of the complete system of MHD equations is studied in which the axial velocity and the magnetic field depend only on the axial coordinate. The problem contains two dimensionless parameters: the electric current density on the upper plate Y and the Batchelor number (magnetic Prandtl number). It is assumed that there is no external source that produces an axial magnetic field. The problem is solved for a Batchelor number of 0–2. Fluid flow is caused by the electric current. It is shown that for small values of Y, the fluid velocity vector has only axial and radial components. The velocity of motion increases with increasing Y, and at a critical value of Y, there is a bifurcation of the new steady flow regime with fluid rotation, while the flow without rotation becomes unstable. A feature of the obtained new exact solution is the absence of an axial magnetic field necessary for the occurrence of an azimuthal component of the ponderomotive force, as is the case in the MHD dynamo. A new mechanism for the bifurcation of rotation in MHD flow is found.     

A divergence-free semi-implicit finite volume scheme for ideal,viscous, and resistive magnetohydrodynamics

In this paper, we present a novel pressure-based semi-implicit finite volume solver for the equations of compressible ideal, viscous, and resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The new method is conservative for mass, momentum, and total energy, and in multiple space dimensions, it is constructed in such a way as to respect the divergence-free condition of the magnetic field exactly, also in the presence of resistive effects. This is possible via the use of multidimensional Riemann solvers on an appropriately staggered grid for the time evolution of the magnetic field and a double curl formulation of the resistive terms. The new semi-implicit method for the MHD equations proposed here discretizes the nonlinear convective terms as well as the time evolution of the magnetic field explicitly, whereas all terms related to the pressure in the momentum equation and the total energy equation are discretized implicitly, making again use of a properly staggered grid for pressure and velocity. Inserting the discrete momentum equation into the discrete energy equation then yields a mildly nonlinear symmetric and positive definite algebraic system for the pressure as the only unknown, which can be efficiently solved with the (nested) Newton method of Casulli et al. The pressure system becomes linear when the specific internal energy is a linear function of the pressure. The time step of the scheme is restricted by a CFL condition based only on the fluid velocity and the Alfvén wave speed and is not based on the speed of the magnetosonic waves. Being a semi-implicit pressure-based scheme, our new method is therefore particularly well suited for low Mach number flows and for the incompressible limit of the MHD equations, for which it is well known that explicit density-based Godunov-type finite volume solvers become increasingly inefficient and inaccurate because of the more and more stringent CFL condition and the wrong scaling of the numerical viscosity in the incompressible limit. We show a relevant MHD test problem in the low Mach number regime where the new semi-implicit algorithm is a factor of 50 faster than a traditional explicit finite volume method, which is a very significant gain in terms of computational efficiency. However, our numerical results confirm that our new method performs well also for classical MHD test cases with strong shocks. In this sense, our new scheme is a true all Mach number flow solver.     

Effect of Hall current on MHD natural convection flow from vertical permeable flat plate with uniform surface heat flux

The effect of the Hall current on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) natural convection flow from a vertical permeable flat plate with a uniform heat flux is analyzed in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. It is assumed that the induced magnetic field is negligible compared with the imposed magnetic field. The boundary layer equations are reduced to a suitable form by employing the free variable formulation (FVF) and the stream function formulation (SFF). The parabolic equations obtained from FVF are numerically integrated with the help of a straightforward finite difference method. Moreover, the nonsimilar system of equations obtained from SFF is solved by using a local nonsimilarity method, for the whole range of the local transpiration parameter ζ. Consideration is also given to the regions where the local transpiration parameter ζ is small or large enough. However, in these particular regions, solutions are acquired with the aid of a regular perturbation method. The effects of the magnetic field M and the Hall parameter m on the local skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number coefficient are graphically shown for smaller values of the Prandtl number Pr (= 0.005, 0.01, 0.05). Furthermore, the velocity and temperature profiles are also drawn from various values of the local transpiration parameter ζ.     

Numerical and analytical solutions of an Oldroyd 8‐constant MHD fluid with nonlinear slip conditions

The flow of an Oldroyd 8‐constant non‐Newtonian MHD fluid is investigated analytically and numerically. The governing equations for the flow field are derived for a steady one‐dimensional flow. The effect of constant applied magnetic field is included and its influence on the flow field is studied. The nonlinear governing equation along with nonlinear boundary conditions is solved analytically and the solution is obtained in an elegant way. Numerical solutions are also obtained using higher order Chebyshev spectral methods. The influence of various non‐Newtonian parameters and applied magnetic field is investigated. Results showing the effect of various physical parameters of the flow are presented and investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.