Electromagnetic pump

Article By:

Dahl, Leslie R. General Electric Company, San Jose, California.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.222600

A pump that operates on the principle that a force is exerted on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field. The high electrical conductivity of the liquid metals pumped (liquid metals are used as the heat-transfer media in some nuclear reactors and magnetohydrodynamic systems) allows a pumping force to be developed within the metals when they are confined in a duct or channel and subjected to a magnetic field and to an electric current. These pumps are designed principally for use in liquid-metal-cooled reactor plants where liquid lithium, sodium, potassium, or sodium-potassium alloys are pumped. Other metallic and nonmetallic liquids of sufficiently high electrical conductivity, such as mercury or molten aluminum, lead, and bismuth, may also be pumped in nonnuclear applications. The absence of moving parts within the pumped liquid eliminates the need for seals and bearings that are found in conventional mechanical pumps, thus minimizing leaks, maintenance, and repairs, and improving reliability. In liquid-metal-cooled nuclear reactor plants, electromagnetic pumps with a capacity of up to several thousand gallons per minute have operated without maintenance for decades. See also: Magnetohydrodynamics; Nuclear power; Nuclear reactor

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