J. Marine Sci. Appl.

(2014) 13: 281-290

DOI: 10.1007/s11804-014-1258-6

Analytical Study of Magnetohydrodynamic Propulsion

Stability
M.Y. Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi
Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar 99717-56499, Iran

Abstract: In this paper an analytical solution for the stability of the angles to the magnetic flux in accordance with the Lorentz
fully developed flow drive in a magneto-hydro-dynamic pump with force (see Fig. 1).
pulsating transverse Eletro-magnetic fields is presented. To do this,
a theoretical model of the flow is developed and the analytical
results are obtained for both the cylindrical and Cartesian
configurations that are proper to use in the propulsion of marine
vessels. The governing parabolic momentum PDEs are transformed
into an ordinary differential equation using approximate velocity
distribution. The numerical results are obtained and asymptotic
analyses are built to discover the mathematical behavior of the
solutions. The maximum velocity in a magneto-hydro-dynamic
pump versus time for various values of the Stuart number,
electro-magnetic interaction number, Reynolds number, aspect
ratio, as well as the magnetic and electrical angular frequency and
the shift of the phase angle is presented. Results show that for a
high Stuart number there is a frequency limit for stability of the
fluid flow in a certain direction of the flow. This stability Fig. 1 Magneto-hydrodynamic propulsion principle
frequency is dependent on the geometric parameters of a channel. (http://www.skewsme.com/mhd.html#ren4)

Keywords: stability frequency; Stuart number; transient flow; The Yamato 1, an experimental MHD propulsion craft, is
Eletro-magnetic interaction number; duct flow; MHD propulsion propelled by two MHD thrusters (without any moving parts),
a liquid helium-cooled superconductor (cooled in order to
Article ID: 1671-9433(2014)03-0281-10 maintain its zero-resistance property); the seawater is used
as the electrically conducting fluid, and the craft can travel
1 Introduction1 at 15 km/h (Sasakawa, 1997). This ship used an AC/DC
converter in order to obtain stationary electromagnetic fields.
Electromagnetic propulsion (EMP) is the theory of
On the other hand, one very promising MHD thruster idea is
speeding up a fluid by the use of electrical and magnetic
the AC internal duct propulsion mechanism. In this
fields. When a current flows through a conductor in a
arrangement, the electric field and the magnetic field
magnetic field, a force known as the Lorentz force pushes the
alternate directions in phase, so that the Lorentz force is
conductor in a direction perpendicular to the conductor and
always directed towards the rear of the vessel. The benefits
the magnetic field. In spite of electric motors, the electrical
of this approach are considerable. If the frequency is in the
energy used for the EMP is not used to produce rotational
order of 1 to 4 kHz, the polarizing effects of the solution can
energy for motion. The laws were known in the nineteenth
be avoided. However, if the frequency can be increased to
century from the work by Hartmann on electromagnetic
over 5 kHz, the molar conductivity of an electrolytic
pumps in 1918. The EMP and its applications for seagoing
solution will increase due to the vanishing of the
ships and submarines (without the aid of either propellers or
time-of-relaxation effect. The alternating current should also
paddles) have been investigated since at least 1958 when
prevent buildup of reactant products on the electrode
Warren Rice filed a patent explaining the technology US
surfaces. Therefore, the choice of electrode materials may
2997013 (Rice, 1961). The collection consists of a water
be limited due to oxidation and reduction reactions
channel open at both ends extending longitudinally through or
occurring on both electrode surfaces.
attached to the ship, a magnetic field throughout the water
Many prototype cases for MHD propulsion in seawater
channel, electrodes at each side of the channel and a source of
use AC or DC power sources. The pulsating fields
power to send direct current through the channel at right
generated by AC power sources can cause internal
Received date: 2014-02-25. fluctuations and instabilities even if the conditions of the sea
Accepted date: 2014-06-13. are calm. The fluid flow under constant fields generated by
*Corresponding author Email: muhammad_yaghoob@yahoo.com
DC power sources could be unstable because of the external
Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
282 M.Y.Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi. Analytical Study of Magneto-hydro-dynamic Propulsion Stability
oscillations of violent circumstances in the sea. Then, the
stability criterion could be obtained in both cases.
Besides vessel propulsion, the MHD viscous flows have
appeared as an essential field of study in recent times owing
to its use in numerous different fields of engineering and
technology along with astrophysics, geophysics and nuclear
sciences. The flow of polymer extrusion processes can be
finely controlled by external magnetic fields in order to
increase the quality of the final product. Thus, the
phenomenon is under extensive study by the research
community due to its diverse applications. The MHD pump
has been a topic of many researches for simulation (Wang et
al., 2004), fabrication (Zhong et al., 2002) and experimental
study (Peng et al., 2008) in recent years. The application of
the MHD covers a very wide range of physical areas of
liquid metals to cosmic plasmas, for example, the intensely
heated and ionized fluids in an electromagnetic field in
astrophysics, geophysics, high-speed aerodynamics and
plasma physics. In addition, it has many industrial
applications for nuclear magnetic resonances (Homsy et al.,
2007), micro-fluidics and micro-systems (Qian and Bau,
2009), actuators and stirrers (Qian and Bau, 2005),
controlling fluid flow on an electronic chip (Weston and
Fritsch, 2012), micro-pumps for chromatography (Eijkel et
al., 2003), mixers (Kang and Choi 2011), induction pumps
(Kirillov and Obukhov,2003), the Micro-channel fabrication
process in microelectronics (Malecha and Golonka, 2008),
and nano-wears (Wang et al., 2013).
In the literature, the effects of the gusts on the
performance of the propulsion system are not addressed. For
example, the effect of unsteady forces on a foil (a flat plate
in a potential flow) caused by chance upon a transverse gust
(sudden step-like change) is related to the Kssner function.
The important problems with the gust special effects on the
ship include the FSI problems and gust modeling, such as
the response of a typical flexible section at both the thin and
thick airfoils (Araseki et al., 2004), the dynamic response
(deflection) of an elastic wing and pressure distributions
(Araseki et al., 2000), and gust modeling (Araseki et al.,
2006).
One of the most interesting matters concerning the MHD is
its stability. This theme followed with annular linear induction
pumps (Araseki et al., 2000), double-supply-frequency
pressure pulsations (Araseki et al., 2006), sodium flow rate
measurements (Araseki et al., 2012), open-cycle power
generation systems (Hayanose et al., 1998; Ishikawa et al.,
1996; Matsuo et al., 1998), advanced Tokamak (Yi et al.,
2010), dumping resistors (Hayanose et al., 2001), subsonic disk
generators (Inoue et al., 2003; Li and Cai, 2013; Aiba et al.,
2009), liquid metal jet flows (Kang et al., 2006), perforated and
parallel walls (Ospina et al., 2008), compressible and radiative
flows (Qin et al., 2012), JefferyHamel flows (Makinde and
Mhone, 2007), toroidal devices (Gong et al., 2008),
gyro-kinetics (Lauber et al., 2007), torus (Lugovtsov and
Kotelnikova, 2010), free-surfaces (Giannakis et al., 2009),
supersonic generators and diffusers (Matsuo et al., 1994),
turbulence and nonlinear dynamics (Moffatt, 1989), anisotropic
MHD (Maiellaro and Labianca, 2002), design of medical
diagnostic devices which make use of the interaction of
magnetic fields with tissue fluids (Ikbal et al., 2009), and the
electromagnetic control of the boundary layer flow on a ships
hull (Bakhtiari and Ghassemi, 2014).
The experimental findings on liquid metal which were
conducted at the UCLA MTOR facility shows that the
magnetic field changes the turbulent flow from 2D
column-type disturbances to ordinary hydrodynamic turbulence
wave structures (Yinga et al., 2004). The OrrSommerfeld and
induction equations govern the linear stability of temporal
normal modes in incompressible, parallel MHD. These
equations have mainly been applied to study the stability of
flows with fixed domain boundaries in the presence of an
external magnetic field. In MHD, numerical investigations of
the stability of the modified plane Poiseuille flow subjected to a
transverse magnetic field, also known as the Hartmann flow,
began in 1973 with the work of Potter and Kutchey (1973) for
small Hartmann numbers (Ha<6). A major challenge of
hydrodynamic-stability problems at high Reynolds numbers is
the existence of thin boundary layers. A Chebyshev method for
plane Poiseuille and plane Couette flows in the presence of a
transverse magnetic field was later developed by Takashima
(Takashima, 1996) for high Reynolds (107) and Hartmann
numbers (103). The temporal development of small
disturbances in the MHD Jeffery-Hamel flows was investigated
in Ref. (Makinde, 2003). Makinde concluded from her results
that the magnetic field across the gap has a strong stabilizing
effect on the flow (Makinde, 2003).
Many methods have been developed to study the
turbulence MHD. One of the most recent is the shell model.
This model describing the statistics of homogeneous and
isotropic MHD turbulence in spectral space is presented in
(Plunian et al., 2013) with their advantages and weaknesses.
Other conditions of turbulence such as the Hall effect on
unsteady MHD Couette flows, which causes the transverse
velocity components was studied by Attia (2003). A
theoretical analysis of the steady state solutions and critical
values (pitchfork type bifurcations) of the MHD equations in
the incompressible case of suction is given in (Ospina et al.,
2008) as a function of the Reynolds number, magnetic
Reynolds number, and Alfvenic Mach number, for some of
the asymptotic limits.
As seen from the literature review, the stability of MHD
for ship propulsion applications has not been studied. In this
study, the effects of the Stuart number, electro-magnetic
interaction number, Reynolds number, aspect ratio, as well as
the magnetic and electrical angular frequency and the shift of
the phase angle on the stability of the seawater flow through
the propulsion systems in Cartesian, cylindrical, and annular
geometries are considered.
2 Geometry and mathematical model
Up to the present time, four basic procedures for MHD
Journal of Marine Science and Application (2014) 13: 281-290 283

propulsion have been proposed. These include internal flow channel length and width in the y and z directions
direct current (DC), internal flow induction (AC), external respectively, VW is the gust velocity, cw is equal to zero for
flow (DC), and external flow induction (AC). With the the fully electrically insulated walls and cw tends to infinity
induction devices, a magnetic field is varied alongside the at the perfect conducting boundary condition. Here it is
length of the MHD channel with the strength proportional to expected that the cw approaches to infinity and the boundary
a sine function. The purpose of this study is to analyze the condition at the wall is supposed to be perfectly conducting.
feasibility of the stability of the MHD thruster as a driving So from the induction equation, the magnetic field strength
force device for the naval vehicles. It is praiseworthy to note through the entire section is constant.
that the MHD thruster concept offers potentially easier
2.1.1 General solution of Cartesian geometry
maintenance because of no moving parts and as a result
In general form the velocity is a function of time and
makes the vessel undetectable by sonar radars. In this study,
position ( u u ( x, y, z , t ) ). For the sake of simplification,
a physical dimensional model is developed to address the
overall stability of an MHD thruster based on the with this research it is assumed that the MHD channel is
conservation of mass and momentum from AC power long enough to reach a fully-developed condition. In the
sources in Cartesian and circular geometries. Fig. 2 shows fully-developed flow the transverse velocities are neglected
the submersible with rectangular MHD Channels ( v y vz 0 ). Furthermore, based on the continuity
respectively. equation, the variation of the longitudinal velocity is
u
neglected ( 0 ). Up until now, the solution of the partial
x
differential equation (1) in close form (i.e u u ( y, z , t ) ) is a
complex task and it requires the use of numerical methods.
So by choosing the approximate velocity profile as the
Fig. 2 Submersible with rectangular MHD channels parabola in both directions by dint of using the boundary
(Gilbert and Lin, 1991) 2 2
y z
conditions ( u U (t )(1 )(1 ) ) the partial
2.1 Governing equations in cartesian geometry w
L
Consider transient, hydro-dynamically and thermally differential equation (1) changes to an ordinary differential
fully-developed laminar flows of an incompressible fluid equation. Furthermore, by assuming the horizontal position
between two parallel plates. Furthermore, magnetic and for the channel there is not any external pressure gradient
electric properties are constant. Both plates are assumed to dp
( 0 ). By substitution of the dimensionless parameters ,
be stationary. The momentum equation in the x-direction is dx
described as: and integrating the equation (1) on the whole y-z plane
u u dp u u u L
(
t
u )
x
( ) ( ) ( ) FL
dx x x y y z z (
VA
dydz ... ) it can be rewritten as:
(1)
dU 1 9M
in which the Lorentz force can be written as: U N sin 2 ( t ) sin( t )sin( t )
FL J B ( E Bu ) B ( EB B 2 u )
dt Re
m 4
where E is the electric field intensity in z-direction (3)
( E Emax sin(t ) ), B is the magnetic density in To clarify the relationship of this mathematical analysis
with the practical MHD propulsion (or pumping) in a pipe,
y-direction ( B Bmax sin(t ) ) , is the electrical
it is worthwhile to remember that the domain of this study is
conductivity of the fluid, p is pressure, is kinematic the laminar flow or low turbulence flow regime. Because
viscosity, is density of the fluid (1 000 kgm-3 is a the purpose is to find the stability criteria. In the usual
reference density). Seawater conducts electricity on a analyses of standard flows, like the Poiseuille flow, the
modest scale by electrolytic ion exchange. While its Orr-Summerfeld stability equation is solved and the critical
conductivity (4 -1m-1) is several orders of magnitude Reynolds number, the wave length of the 2D
lower than that of metals, it is significantly higher than that Tolimin-Schilichting waves, and the maximum stable
of fresh water. The boundary conditions of Eq. (1) are: frequency of the system is obtained. In spite of the usual
u ( y w) u ( z L) 0 condition, here the driving force is not constant and is
B( y w) B ( y w) varied by the frequency of the electro-magnetic fields. By
0
y c simplifications of the current study, it is assumed that the
(2) fluid layers slip on each other and they do not mix like fully
B( z L) B( z L)
0 turbulent flows. In other words, fluid layers are accelerated
z c
together in a way which conserves a similar shape between
u (t 0) VA
various times but differs in amplitude. Correspondingly,
where VA is the ship velocity, L and W are half of the
284 M.Y.Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi. Analytical Study of Magneto-hydro-dynamic Propulsion Stability

there is not a momentum change in the system originated dU U 9 M

from circulation or mixing of fluid layers. sin( t ) sin( t )
dt Rem 4
The solution of the previous ordinary differential
t
equation (Eq. (3)) is in the form of:
By choosing the integral factor as q = e Rem , the solution
U

9 M cos cos(2 t ) q
(4) of this equation, U ( M / N , Re 0) , satisfying the
8q
initial condition, U (t 0) 1 , is:
Regrettably, the explicit formula of the integral in Eq. (4)
t
sin( t )
could not be found because the integral of the e in U e Rem
the q is the integrating factor and is unknown. By the initial
t
condition of U (t 0) 1 , the equation (4) can be
simplified as:
MRe e Rem 1
m

2
2
cos( ) 1 4 Rem (6)
cos(2 t )
N sin(2 t ) 1 N 2 2
U exp t 2 8 Rem 2 sin(2 t ) Re
4 Rem 2 m

xt
9M
1 8
cos( ) cos(2 x ) At simultaneous electric and magnetic fields with the
x 0 same phase angle ( 0 ) and steady state solution ( t )
1 N N sin(2 x) the maximum velocity versus time behaves such as:
exp x dx t
Rem 2 4
or at the zero shift of the phase angle ( 0 ) and by U

MReme Rem cos( ) 1 4 Rem
2 2



2 2
2 8 Rem 2 Re sin(2 t ) cos(2 t )
ignoring the viscous effects m
N sin(2 t ) 1 the ratio of the amplitude of the harmonic terms
N 9M 9M
U exp t (1 ) ( sin(2 t ),cos(2 t ) ) to the constant term ( cos( ) )
4 Re
m 2 8 N 8N

1/2
The maximum velocity starts from VA and approaches to is equal to ( 1 4 2 Rem 2 ) and so for the stabilized
9VAS/8.
velocity profile, if the maximum value of the velocity
2.1.2 Limiting case: low interaction number, low Reynolds fluctuation to the mean value is less than m then the
number frequency of the field should be higher than a constant value
For low interaction numbers (high Stuart number and low 1 1
electro-magnetic parameter) and a low Reynolds number, in 0.75 2 2 m 2 1 .
L w
the limit S 0 and Re 0 , the equation (3) is:
1 2.2 Governing equations in cylindrical geometry
dU
U N sin 2 ( t ) Considering the transient to be hydro-dynamically and
dt Rem thermally fully-developed, the laminar flow of an
The solution of this equation, U (S M / N 0, Re 0) , incompressible fluid is through the pipe. Furthermore the
magnetic and electric properties are constant. The pipe wall
satisfying the initial condition, U (t 0) 1 , is
is assumed to be stationary. The momentum equation in the
sin(2 t ) t t x-direction is described as:
U exp N (5)
4 2 Rem
u u dP 1 u
( u ) r ( EB B 2u ) (7)
or by ignoring the viscous attenuation effects t x dx r r r
N
U exp sin(2 t ) 2 t with the boundary conditions as:
4 u (r D / 2) 0
Accordingly with high interaction numbers and a low B( r D / 2) B( r D / 2)
Reynolds number, because of the decreasing outcome of the 0 (8)
r cw
magnetic field, the maximum velocity, which starts from VA ,
after some time approaches to zero. u (t 0) VA

2.1.3 Limiting case: high interaction number, low Reynolds where D is the pipe diameter. Also the annular geometry
number can be used for MHD propulsion. So the equation (10) can
For high interaction numbers (a high electro-magnetic be modified for the annular channel as:
parameter and a low Stuart number) and a low Reynolds
number, in the limit M and Re 0 the Eq. (3) is:
Journal of Marine Science and Application (2014) 13: 281-290 285

u (r Di / 2) 0 rewritten as:
B (r Di / 2) B (r Di / 2) dU 4 2n 2 3n 1
0 (9) U
2
N sin ( t )
r cw
dt Re n(1 n) (11)
u (r Do / 2) 0
( n 1)(2n 1)
B (r Do / 2) B (r Do / 2) M sin( t )sin( t )
0 2n 2
r cw
So by the use of this modified Reynolds number and
where Di is the inner pipe diameter and Do is the outer pipe considering this relation between the two interaction
diameter. parameters, the equations (4) to (6) are valid for MHD in a tube.
2 2
General solution of the cylindrical configuration Also by choosing u U (t )( ln(2r / Di ) ( Do 1) 4r 1) as
2 2
In the general form, the velocity is a function of time and ln( Do / Di ) Di Di
position ( u u ( x, r , , t ) ). In the pervious section it is the annular, the corresponding definition for the annular
presumed that the MHD tube has an adequate length in system for using the equations (4) to (6) is obtained.
which the flow touches the fully-developed form. In the
fully-developed flow the crosswise velocities are ignored 3 Results
( vr v 0 ). Moreover, based on mass conservation, the
To solve the governing nonlinear differential equations,
deviation of the velocity to the axis of the pipe direction is an in-house finite-volume code is developed and utilized.
u The code is based on a structured grid for time and the
zero ( 0 ). Hitherto, the analytical solution of the
x Runge-Kutta method (Antia, 1991). The residual for the
equation (7) (i.e u u (r , t ) ) is a difficult challenge and its velocity is set at 10 6. The program uses the input data and
solution requires the use of numerical methods. So by solves the momentum equations to obtain the maximum of
choosing the approximate velocity profile as (Schlichting, the developed velocity field along the MHD pump. For
1/ n verification purposes, Figure 3 shows the current as it is
r
1986) u U (t ) 1 compared with a computational model known case (flow
D / 2 inside a rectangular duct) by Wang et al. (2004). As shown,
4 the volumetric flow rates for both studies show a similar
where n log10 ( Re) 2 , the equation (7) changes to an
3 trend. The dependence of the flow velocity as a function of
ODE. Like the pervious section, there is not any external the channel width is shown in Fig. 3.
dp
pressure gradient 0 . Upon substituting the
dx
approximate velocity profile in the momentum equation, the
general equation now becomes:
r 1/ n 1 1 r 1/ n 2

(1 D / 2 ) (1 )
nD / 2 D/2

nD / 2
r 1/ n
U U (1 )
D/2
B 2 sin 2 (t )
max


Emax Bmax sin(t )sin(t ) Fig. 3 Simulated flow velocity as a function of channel

r 1/ n width; the channel depth is 2 mm, the input current is

(1 )
D/2 0.5 A and the magnetic flux density is 18 mT
(10)
by considering the definitions in the cylindrical configuration According to Fig. 3, the flow velocity is drastically
2
Bmax D reduced due to the resistance of the frictional effect of the
for the Stuart number ( N ) , Reynolds number channel side walls when the width is less than 10 mm.
VA
When the width is larger than 20 mm, the frictional forces
VA D on both sidewalls of the channel no longer affect the flow
( Re ) , electro-magnetic interaction parameter
velocity. As for the dependence of the volumetric flow rate

(M
Emax Bmax D
), dimensionless velocity ( U
Urdr
),
on the channel width, the flow rate increases linearly with
the channel width. In the Figs. 4-12 the effect of the
VA2 VArdr
geometry parameters is hidden in the modified Reynolds
number and is refered to as the Reynolds number. So the
tVA effect of the aspect ratio on the rectangular geometry is not
dimensionless time ( t ), the equation (10) is
D
286 M.Y.Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi. Analytical Study of Magneto-hydro-dynamic Propulsion Stability

studied here separately. With the one-dimensional laminar

flow, the flow velocity profile in the channel along the Fig. 6 illustrates the effect of the interaction number on
sidewall direction could not be exactly calculated since the the transient dimensionless velocity profile at a Reynolds
Poiseuille type of flow neglects the frictional effects on both number equal to 100 and by ignoring the effect of the Stuart
sidewalls. Although the predictions using the number. As shown, because of the augmentation of the
one-dimensional laminar flow model are not significantly interaction number, the fluid is accelerated constantly with
different from those of the two-dimensional model when the time.
aspect ratio of the channel reduces to near unity, it should
be noted that the design of the MHD pump can be quite
inaccurate if the one-dimensional model is generally
applied.
Fig. 4 shows the effect of the Stuart number on the
transient dimensionless velocity profile at a Reynolds
number equal to 100 and without the effect of the
interaction number. As shown, because of the decreasing
outcome in the magnetic field without the benefit of the
electric field, the moving particles of the fluid are stopped
after some time.
Fig. 6. Effect of the electro-magnetic parameter on the
transient dimensionless velocity profile (N=0,
Re=100)

Fig. 7 shows the effect of the Stuart number (N =1) on the

maximum velocity for the condition of Fig. 6. As is visible,
the shrinking result of the Stuart number on the interaction
number makes the amount of the velocity half at the same
time approximately.

Fig. 4 Effect of the Stuart number on the transient

dimensionless velocity profile (M=0, Re=100)

Fig. 5 displays the effect of the Stuart number (N from 1

to 10) on the transient dimensionless velocity profile for the
electro-magnetic parameter equal to 1 and a Reynolds
number equal to 100. Being exposed to the diminishing
result of the Stuart number is compensated by the
electro-magnetic parameter. The maximum velocity is
stabilized near the initial condition for a Stuart number
Fig. 7 Effect of the electro-magnetic parameter in the
equal to 2 (near the N=9/4).
presence of the Stuart number on the transient
dimensionless velocity profile (N=1, Re=100)

Figs. 8-10 show the effect of the viscous term in the

Fig. 5 Effect of the Stuart number in the presence of the
electro-magnetic parameter on the transient
dimensionless velocity profile (M=1, Re=100)
presence of the Stuart number and electro-magnetic
parameter on transient velocity. The dashed line represents
the frictionless limit. Similar to Figs. 4-7, the Stuart number
has a discontinuing effect and the electro-magnetic
parameter has an accelerated effect on the fluid motion.
Fig. 8 clarifies that the viscous term decreases the effect of
the Stuart number. The similar effect is clear in Fig. 9 for
the electro-magnetic parameter and in Figure 10 for both.
Although the viscous effect changes the final value of the
velocity, it does not affect the rate of acceleration of the
fluid and can be ignored for Reynolds numbers greater than
10.
Journal of Marine Science and Application (2014) 13: 281-290 287

and the electric field for the transient dimensionless velocity

at the same condition. As demonstrated, the amplitude of
the fluctuations decreases near the 0 and 360 degrees of the
phase angle and is maximum for the 180 degrees of
difference.

Fig. 8 Effect of the Reynolds number in the presence of the

electro-magnetic parameter on the transient
dimensionless velocity profile (N=1, M=0). The
dashed line is the limit of Re=

Fig. 11 Effect of angular velocity on the transient

dimensionless velocity profile (M=1, N=1, Re=1)

Fig. 9 Effect of the Reynolds number in the presence of the

Stuart number on the transient dimensionless velocity
profile (N=0, M=1). The dashed line is the limit of
Re= Fig. 12 Effect of the phase angle on the transient
dimensionless velocity profile (M=1, N=1, Re=1)

The stability chart representing the velocity profile based

on the maximum velocity fluctuation in relation to the mean
velocity parameter is illustrated in Fig. 13. This inequality is
a balance between the largeness of the harmonic terms and
demonstrates that for a specified value m there is a
minimum frequency of stabilization.

Fig. 10 Effect of the Reynolds number in the presence of the

Stuart number and electro-magnetic parameter on
the transient dimensionless velocity profile (N=1,
M=1). The dashed line is the limit of Re=

Fig. 11 reveals the effect of angular velocity on transient

dimensionless velocity (M = N = Re = 1). As presented by
the increase of the dimensionless angular velocity, the
amplitude of the fluctuations decreases. By the increase of
Fig. 13 Stability chart of the velocity profile based on the
the dimensionless angular velocity from 0.1 to 1, the
maximum velocity fluctuation to the mean velocity
velocity fluctuation amplitude is lessened by four times.
Furthermore, Fig. 12 discloses the consequence of the
Fig. 14 shows a submersible with circular MHD channels.
difference between the phase angles of the magnetic field
288 M.Y.Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi. Analytical Study of Magneto-hydro-dynamic Propulsion Stability

The practical dimensionless velocity profiles for various 4 Conclusions

Reynolds numbers in the circular passages are shown in Fig.
15. The dashed line is the parabolic shape for the laminar
flow regime. Another geometry which is discussed in the
current study is the annular configuration in which the
application is plotted in Fig. 16. All of the figures of the
dimensionless velocity can be evaluated for the circular and
the annular geometries based on the modified value of the
Reynolds number and the electro-magnetic parameter as a
function of the Reynolds number which is shown in Fig. 17.
Fig. 14 Submersible with circular MHD channels
In this study, the effects of the Stuart number as well as
magnetic and electrical angular frequency on the velocity
distribution in a magneto-hydro-dynamic pump are
scrutinized. Also a criterion for the stability of the velocity
field has been derived for the laminar, transient problem in a
Poiseuille flow between plane parallel plates with the
Lorentz force. Results show that, as the Stuart number
approaches zero, the velocity profile becomes similar to that
of the fully developed flow in a pipe. Furthermore, for a
high Stuart number there is a frequency limit for stability of
the fluid flow in a certain direction of the flow. This
stability frequency is dependent on the geometric
parameters of a channel. The maximum velocity and
volumetric flow rate increase with the increasing magnetic
flux density and electric current. The maximum temperature
increases with the increasing electric current but is not
varied considerably with magnetic flux density variations.
The effects of the Stuart, Reynolds, and interaction numbers
on the transient velocity have been discussed in terms of the
time.

Nomenclatures
A aspect ratio, L/w
B magnetic field strength in y-direction T
c conductivity constant m
C1 coefficient for the annular cross
Do2
1
sections, Di2
Fig. 15 Velocity profiles for various Reynolds numbers in C1
ln( Do / Di )
circular channels
C2 coefficient for the annular cross
sections, C 4
2
Di2
C3 coefficient for the annular cross
sections, C ln(2 / Di ) ( Do2 1) 1
3
ln( Do / Di ) Di2

Fig. 16 Submersible with annular MHD channels D pipe diameter m

E electric field strength in z-direction V/m
F force N
L half of the channel width in the z m
direction
m velocity fluctuation to mean ratio
M electro-magnetic parameter,
M Emax Bmax L / VA2
Mcircle electro-magnetic parameter for circular
cross sections,
9n 2
M circle M
2( n 1)(2n 1)
Mannular electro-magnetic parameter for annular
Fig. 17 Reynolds number and electro-magnetic ratio of the cross sections,
circular section versus the Reynolds number
Journal of Marine Science and Application (2014) 13: 281-290 289

M annular 9M / 4 L / VA )
1
( Do / Di ) ln( Do / 2) ln( Di / 2)
2
Subscripts
C1
( Do / Di ) 2 1 0 stationary
2 2
C
2 o D D D D a annular
i o i

4 Do Di c circular
i inner
C3
L Lorentz
m modified
n power of the approximate velocity max maximum
profile n 0.75log10 ( Re) 2 o outer
N 2
stuart number, N Bmax L / VA Superscript
p pressure Pa ' differentiation with respect to t 1/s
q integral factor,
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Author biography
M.Y. Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi is an assistant
professor at the Chabahar Maritime University. He
received his B. Sc. in fluid mechanical engineering
from Iran university of Science and technology in
2006, his Master's Degree in energy conversion
from Sharif University of Technology in 2008, and
his Ph.D. degree in Mechanics from Khajeh Nasir
Toosi University in 2012. His research interests
include fluid flow simulation, CFD, MHD, heat
transfer, thermal radiation, and SOFC simulation.
He is currently a senior research scientist at the
Gyeongsang National University.