Study of an MHD instability occurring in Annular electromagnetic linear induction pump (Alip) – InstaPump

In this research project, we propose to study a problem of magnetohydrodynamics, i.e. the dynamics of electrically conducting fuids. More precisely, we aim to study a magnetohydrodynamic instability occurring in fows encountered in the use of annular linear induction electromagnetic pumps (ALIP). The system therefore consists of a fow of a liquid metal generated in an annular channel by the action of an external time-dependent magnetic feld. When fow velocities are large, an instability occurs and the fow bifurcates to a non- axisymmetric oscillatory state, which strongly reduces the pump performance.
This project is based on a multifaceted approach, with both fundamental and industrial aspects. First, electromagnetic pumps are essential to the operation of nuclear reactors. From this point of view, understanding the instabilities occurring in these pumps is a major problem of industrial research, especially in view of the upcoming fourth-generation nuclear reactors. Moreover, this instability is not well understood, and its study is of great interest for fundamental physics. This problem is indeed a relatively simple confguration in which an MHD instability is observed, and our project could help to better understand some aspects of other MHD instabilities such as the dynamo effect or the magneto-rotational instability.

Finally, this theoretical approach may be completed by a close interaction with an experimental study currently developed at the CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique).