• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.213-224
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• 2008

The pumping of coolant in a liquid metal fast reactor may be performed with an annular linear induction electro-magnetic (EM) pump. Linear induction pumps use a traveling magnetic field wave created by poly-phase currents, and the induced currents and their associated magnetic field generate a Lorentz force, whose effect can be the pumping of the liquid metal. The flow behaviors in the pump are very complex, including a time-varying Lorentz force and pressure pulsation, because an induction EM pump has time-varying magnetic fields and the induced convective currents that originate from the flow of the liquid metal. These phenomena lead to an instability problem in the pump arising from the changes of the generated Lorentz forces along the pump's geometry. Therefore, a magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) analysis is required for the design and operation of a linear induction EM pump. We have developed a time-harmonic 2-dimensional axisymmetry MHD analysis method based on the Maxwell equations. This paper describes the analysis and numerical method for obtaining solutions for some MHD parameters in an induction EM pump. Experimental test results obtained from an induction EM pump of CLIP-150 at the STC "Sintez," D.V. Efremov Institute of Electro-physical Apparatus in St. Petersburg were used to validate the method. In addition, we investigated some characteristics of a linear induction EM pump, such as the effect of the convective current and the double supply frequency (DSF) pressure pulsation. This simple model overestimated the convective eddy current generated from the sodium flow in the pump channel; however, it had a similar tendency for the measured data of the pump performance through a comparison with the experimental data. Considering its simplicity, it could be a base model for designing an EM pump and for evaluating the MHD flow in an EM pump.