Numerical study on three-dimensional coupling characteristics for electromagnetism and flow in flat linear induction pump

• A three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic numerical model based on flat linear induction pump (FLIP). • A new coupling model that enables a connection between electromagnetism and flow. • The characteristics of the distribution of Lorentz force field on the NaK78 fluid and the head of FLIP are obtained. • An equivalent coupling model through homogenizing the distribution of the Lorentz force field both is obtained. Electromagnetic pump (EMP) is a device that transports liquid metal by Lorentz force generated from the vector product of the magnetic induction intensity and eddy current density in liquid metal. In this paper, a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical model is constructed for a flat linear induction pump (FLIP). A coupling model between the electromagnetic model and the flow model is proposed by inserting the instantaneous Lorentz force fields as the momentum source term into Navier-Stokes equations (N-S equations) in the form of a segmented function. The characteristics of the temporal and spatial distribution of Lorentz force field on the NaK78 fluid under the joint action of magnetic field and electric field are numerically analyzed. Based on the influence of the temporal and spatial distribution of Lorentz force field, the flow irregularity of liquid metal and the fluctuation characteristics of head in FLIP under the varying flow rate are investigated. In order to accommodate the rapid verification for the design of FLIP, an equivalent coupling model based on changing the form of the Lorentz force field distribution by exploring the influence of the homogeneity of the distribution in both time and space on the head characteristics of FLIP is developed. The accuracy of the MHD numerical model and the equivalent coupling model are verified by comparing with the experimental results of the head that obtained from a principle prototype loop test system of FLIP actually constructed.