Wall functions for numerical modeling of laminar MHD flows

A general wall function treatment is presented for the numerical modeling of laminar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. The wall function expressions are derived analytically from the steady-state momentum and electric potential equations, making use only of local variables of the numerical solution. No assumptions are made regarding the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the wall, nor of the magnitude of the Hartmann number, or the wall conductivity. The wall functions are used for defining implicit boundary conditions for velocity and electric potential, and for computing mass flow and electrical currents in near wall-cells. The wall function treatment was validated in a finite volume formulation, and compared with an analytic solution for a fully developed channel flow in a transverse magnetic field. For the case with insulating walls, a uniform 20×20 grid, and Hartmann numbers Ha={10,30,100}, the accuracy of pressure drop and wall shear stress predictions was {1.1%,1.6%,0.5%}, respectively. Comparable results were obtained also with conducting Hartmann walls. The accuracy of predicted pressure drop and wall shear stress was essentially independent of the resolution of the Hartmann layers. When applied also to the parallel walls, the wall functions reduced the errors by a factor two to three. The wall functions can be implemented in any general flow solver, to allow accurate predictions at reasonable cost even for complex geometries and nonuniform magnetic fields.