Numerical investigation of the turbulent MHD flow in a circular pipe with transverse magnetic field*

In modern industrial metallurgical processes, external magnetic fields are often applied to control the motion of liquid metals by a non-intrusive means. The desired results are for example the damping of unwanted motions or the homogenization of a liquid zone in a partially solidified ingot. Because of the commonly appearing parameters in these processes, one can assume the quasi-static assumption for the magnetohydrodynamic equations. Here we are interested in the numerical study of the turbulent flow of a liquid metal inside an electrically insulated pipe with a transverse uniform magnetic field. For this purpose, we will use a hybrid spectral/finite element solver, which allows to study complex flows in Cartesian and axisymmetric geometries. For the case of interest, we consider a bulk Reynolds number of 8200 and a Hartmann number ranging between 5 and 30. Here, the main points of interest are the evolution of the skin friction coefficient as a function of the ratio of the Hartmann number Ha over the Reynolds number Re (with 0 $<$ Ha/Re $<$ 75x10$^{-4})$ as well as the energy budget (viscous, Joule and numerical dissipations, kinetic energy production) in a cross-section. These results will determine the transition point between laminar and turbulent flows.