Self-Driven thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of liquid metal under inclined magnetic fields

doi:10.7523/j.ucas.2026.013

Abstract

Abstract: In applications such as fusion reactors and electromagnetic metallurgy, magnetic fields and flow directions are often neither parallel nor perpendicular. Addressing this, this paper presents a numerical study on the three-dimensional self-driven thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamic (TEMHD) flow and heat transfer of liquid metal in a toroidal square duct under inclined magnetic fields. The influence of the magnetic inclination angle (0°-90°) on flow structures, current distributions, and heat transfer performance is systematically investigated. The results indicate that magnetic inclination alters the thermoelectric current distribution, triggering a non-monotonic flow response: while the average velocity decreases monotonically with increasing inclination, the maximum driving velocity exhibits a peak around 45°. Mechanism analysis reveals that at this angle, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) damping is near its minimum, and the highly concentrated Lorentz force at the corners generates the maximum local driving force. Furthermore, a distinct non-synchronous variation between flow and heat transfer is observed; although high inclination angles reduce the overall flow rate, the shear mixing induced by corner jets significantly increases the average Nusselt number on the upper heated wall, which reaches its maximum under a vertical magnetic field. This study demonstrates that optimizing passive cooling near components with local high heat flux can be achieved by adjusting the magnetic field orientation, providing a reference for the design of liquid metal passive thermal management systems based on TEMHD flow.

Key words: liquid metal, inclined magnetic field, TEMHD flow, self-driven flow, heat transfer enhancement

CLC Number:

TK124

NAN Xinning, CHANG Jiawei, YOU Chenyu, JIANG Xinyi, WANG Zenghui. Self-Driven thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of liquid metal under inclined magnetic fields[J]. Journal of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.7523/j.ucas.2026.013.

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