• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2022

A magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) seawater propulsion thruster has been proposed to reduce propeller noise, propeller pitting, and vessel vibration originated from the propeller cavitation. The MHD thruster was also focused to overcome the limitation of propulsion velocity for the special purpose of marine ships. The research trends and key technologies in the worldwide leading countries are reviewed for the development of MHD propulsion thrusters in Korea. A small performance test device was developed firstly with a conventional solenoid magnet of ≤0.6 Tesla and a helical-type cylindrical duct(inner diameter of 5 cm) of thruster. The artificial seawater was fabricated by a salt solution including a conductivity of 5~6 S/m. The measured flow velocity of artificial seawater in the test device was 0.03~0.42 m/s (0.06~0.84 Knot) with a magnetic field strength of 0.6 Tesla and the applied currents of 10~80 A including the change of anode materials. It was found that the flow direction of seawater was reversed by the directional change of applied current in the solenoid magnet.