Abstract
Phenomena of interelectrode breakdown in the supersonic Faraday type MHD generator are studied through time-dependent two-dimensional numerical analyses. The whole area of a single electrode-pair is analyzed. (1) No inter-electrode breakdown is induced, when the channel is operated under the design condition where the averaged value of current density in the Faraday direction is 0.96 A/cm2 with a Hall field of -30.4 V/cm. (2) The intercathode breakdown alone is induced, whereas no breakdown occurs at the anode when the average value of current density in the Faraday direction is 1.91 A/cm2 with a Hall field of -60.7 V/cm. (3) Boundary layer separation is induced by the strong axial current between adjacent cathodes.
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