Article
Article
Magnetohydrodynamic power generator
Article By:
Jackson, William D. HMJ Corporation, Kensington, Maryland.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.399400
A system for the generation of electrical power through the interaction of a flowing, electrically conducting fluid with a magnetic field. As in a conventional electrical generator, the Faraday principle of dynamic induction is employed, but solid conductors are replaced by an electrically conducting fluid. The interactions between this conducting fluid and the electromagnetic field system through which power is delivered to a circuit are determined by the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, while the properties of electrically conducting gases or plasmas are established based on the appropriate relationships of plasma physics. Major emphasis has been placed on MHD systems using an ionized gas, but an electrically conducting liquid or a two-phase flow can also be employed. See also: Electromagnetic induction; Generator; Magnetohydrodynamics; Plasma (physics)
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