The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and t... more The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and the return flow instability is experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted using an MSC setup consisting of insulating spheres with the ratio of the inner to the outer radii r i/r o = 0.5, Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Hartmann number Ha ∈ [25, 29]. The transition is characterized by changes in the power spectra of the azimuthal modes in the flow as Ha is dynamically changed. The transition occurs in the interval Ha ∈ [26.5, 27.5]. The evolution of the power spectra of the azimuthal modes exhibits hysteretic effect depending on whether Ha is increased or decreased within the experimental interval. The power spectra in the azimuthal modes m ∈ {3, 4} increases and remains dominant as Ha is increased, while the power spectra in m ∈ {2, 4} are dominant while the flow is time dependent due to return flow instability as Ha is decreased.
Abstract Liquid metal model experiments (LMME) are an important tool in metallurgy and crystal gr... more Abstract Liquid metal model experiments (LMME) are an important tool in metallurgy and crystal growth. They allow investigating the flow structure and the transport properties in industrial facilities on a laboratory scale. Further, LMME provide a profound basis for the validation of numerical simulations. Physical modelling as well as up-scaling is ruled by similarity criteria. These depend, besides on the physical properties of the fluid, on geometry and, in the case of magnetohydrodynamics, on the attainable strengths of the magnetic fields. This paper describes the home-made MULTIpurpose MAGnetic field system, a facility composed of compact coil systems carrying high currents. Prominent features of MULTIMAG are (i) The large bore of 400 mm in height and 365 mm in diameter, which supports, in conjunction with the high current densities, the attainability of similarity criteria in the industrial range. (ii) Because the use of ferromagnetic material was strictly avoided in the construction, the rotating, travelling, pulsating, and DC in either homogeneous or cusp configuration magnetic fields may be superimposed linearly. (iii) In order to have as flexible as possible spatio-temporal distributions of the magnetic fields, the power supplies are realised as amplifiers. Each of the seven phases, three for the rotating and the travelling field, respectively, and one for the pulsating field, comprises a pulse width modulated power amplifier controlled by its own freely programmable frequency synthesizer. A detailed description of the facility is followed by some flow measurement examples demonstrating the performance of MULTIMAG.
The effect of the nutation angle on the flow inside a precessing cylinder is experimentally explo... more The effect of the nutation angle on the flow inside a precessing cylinder is experimentally explored and compared with numerical simulations. The focus is laid on the typical breakdown of the directly forced m = 1 Kelvin mode for increasing precession ratio (Poincaré number) and the accompanying transition between laminar and turbulent flows. Compared to the reference case with a 90° nutation angle, prograde rotation leads to an earlier breakdown, while in the retrograde case, the forced mode continues to exist also for higher Poincaré numbers. Depending largely on the occurrence and intensity of an axisymmetric double-roll mode, a kinematic dynamo study reveals a sensitive dependence of the self-excitation condition on the nutation angle and the Poincaré number. Optimal dynamo conditions are found for 90° angle which, however, might shift to slightly retrograde precession for higher Reynolds numbers.
We present results on the synchronization of the helicity in a liquid-metal Rayleigh–Bénard exper... more We present results on the synchronization of the helicity in a liquid-metal Rayleigh–Bénard experiment under the influence of a tide-like electromagnetic forcing with azimuthal wavenumber m = 2. We show that for a critical forcing strength the typical large-scale circulation in the cylindrical vessel of aspect ratio unity is entrained by the period of the tide-like forcing, leading to synchronized helicity oscillations with opposite signs in two half-spaces. The obtained experimental results are consistent with and supported by numerical simulations. A similar entrainment mechanism for the helicity in the solar tachocline may be responsible for the astonishing synchronization of the solar dynamo by the 11.07-year triple synodic alignment cycle of the tidally dominant planets Venus, Earth, and Jupiter.
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2022
The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and t... more The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and the return flow instability is experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted using an MSC setup consisting of insulating spheres with the ratio of the inner to the outer radii r i/r o = 0.5, Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Hartmann number Ha ∈ [25, 29]. The transition is characterized by changes in the power spectra of the azimuthal modes in the flow as Ha is dynamically changed. The transition occurs in the interval Ha ∈ [26.5, 27.5]. The evolution of the power spectra of the azimuthal modes exhibits hysteretic effect depending on whether Ha is increased or decreased within the experimental interval. The power spectra in the azimuthal modes m ∈ {3, 4} increases and remains dominant as Ha is increased, while the power spectra in m ∈ {2, 4} are dominant while the flow is time dependent due to return flow instability as Ha is decreased.
We conduct magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow experiments in the return flow instability reg... more We conduct magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow experiments in the return flow instability regime with GaInSn as the working fluid, the ratio of the inner to the outer sphere radii ri/ro = 0.5, the Reynolds number Re = 1000, and the Hartmann number Ha ∈ [27.5, 40]. Rotating waves with different azimuthal wavenumbers m ∈ {2, 3, 4} manifest in certain ranges of Ha in the experiments, depending on whether the values of Ha were fixed or varied from different initial values. These observations demonstrate the multistability of rotating waves, which we attribute to the dynamical system representing the state of the MSC flow tending to move along the same solution branch of the bifurcation diagram when Ha is varied. In experiments with both fixed and varying Ha, the rotation frequencies of the rotating waves are consistent with the results of nonlinear stability analysis. A brief numerical investigation shows that differences in the azimuthal wavenumbers of the rotating waves that devel...
The successful application of the ultrasound Doppler method at hot channel flows by means of comm... more The successful application of the ultrasound Doppler method at hot channel flows by means of commercial high temperature probes is presented. To obtain sufficient Doppler signals, different problems have to be solved: the transmission of the ultrasonic beam through the channel wall made of stainless steel, the acoustic coupling between the transducer and the channel wall, and the wetting of the inner surface of the wall by the liquid metal, respectively. An integrated sensor concept and method are figured out to meet these requirements. The feasibility of this sensor concept is demonstrated at experiments in metallic melts at temperatures up to 230°C. Measurements are performed at a circular channel flow at the LIMMCAST facility at HZDR applying an eutectic bismuth-tin alloy. In addition, a lead-bismuth flow in a rectangular channel profile measured at the METAL:LIC loop at the Institute of Physics Riga (IPUL) is presented in this report.
We report Alfven-wave experiments with liquid rubidium at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laborat... more We report Alfven-wave experiments with liquid rubidium at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD). Reaching up to 63 T, the pulsed magnetic field exceeds the critical value of 54 T at which the Alfven speed becomes equal to the sound speed (plasma-$\beta$ unity). At this threshold we observe a period doubling of an applied 8 kHz CW excitation, a clear footprint for a parametric resonance between magnetosonic waves and Alfven waves.
The homogeneous dynamo effect is at the root of magnetic field generation in cosmic bodies, inclu... more The homogeneous dynamo effect is at the root of magnetic field generation in cosmic bodies, including planets, stars and galaxies. While the underlying theory had increasingly flourished since the middle of the 20th century, hydromagnetic dynamos were not realized in the laboratory until 1999. On 11 November 1999, this situation changed with the first observation of a kinematic dynamo in the Riga experiment. Since that time, a series of experimental campaigns has provided a wealth of data on the kinematic and the saturated regime. This paper is intended to give a comprehensive survey about these experiments, to summarize their main results and to compare them with numerical simulations.
The transition to turbulence in a precessing cylindrical vessel is experimentally investigated. O... more The transition to turbulence in a precessing cylindrical vessel is experimentally investigated. Our measurements are performed for a nearly resonant configuration with an initially laminar flow dominated by an inertial mode with azimuthal wave number m = 1 superimposed on a solid body rotation. By increasing the precession ratio, we observe a transition from the laminar to a non-linear regime, which then breakdowns to turbulence for larger precession ratio. Our measurements show that the transition to turbulence is subcritical, with a discontinuity of the wall-pressure and the power consumption at the threshold ϵLT. The turbulence is self-sustained below this threshold, describing a bifurcation diagram with a hysteresis. In this range of the control parameters, the turbulent flows can suddenly collapse after a finite duration, leading to a definitive relaminarization of the flow. The average lifetime 〈τ〉 of the turbulence increases rapidly when ϵ tends to ϵLT.
The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and t... more The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and the return flow instability is experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted using an MSC setup consisting of insulating spheres with the ratio of the inner to the outer radii r i/r o = 0.5, Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Hartmann number Ha ∈ [25, 29]. The transition is characterized by changes in the power spectra of the azimuthal modes in the flow as Ha is dynamically changed. The transition occurs in the interval Ha ∈ [26.5, 27.5]. The evolution of the power spectra of the azimuthal modes exhibits hysteretic effect depending on whether Ha is increased or decreased within the experimental interval. The power spectra in the azimuthal modes m ∈ {3, 4} increases and remains dominant as Ha is increased, while the power spectra in m ∈ {2, 4} are dominant while the flow is time dependent due to return flow instability as Ha is decreased.
Abstract Liquid metal model experiments (LMME) are an important tool in metallurgy and crystal gr... more Abstract Liquid metal model experiments (LMME) are an important tool in metallurgy and crystal growth. They allow investigating the flow structure and the transport properties in industrial facilities on a laboratory scale. Further, LMME provide a profound basis for the validation of numerical simulations. Physical modelling as well as up-scaling is ruled by similarity criteria. These depend, besides on the physical properties of the fluid, on geometry and, in the case of magnetohydrodynamics, on the attainable strengths of the magnetic fields. This paper describes the home-made MULTIpurpose MAGnetic field system, a facility composed of compact coil systems carrying high currents. Prominent features of MULTIMAG are (i) The large bore of 400 mm in height and 365 mm in diameter, which supports, in conjunction with the high current densities, the attainability of similarity criteria in the industrial range. (ii) Because the use of ferromagnetic material was strictly avoided in the construction, the rotating, travelling, pulsating, and DC in either homogeneous or cusp configuration magnetic fields may be superimposed linearly. (iii) In order to have as flexible as possible spatio-temporal distributions of the magnetic fields, the power supplies are realised as amplifiers. Each of the seven phases, three for the rotating and the travelling field, respectively, and one for the pulsating field, comprises a pulse width modulated power amplifier controlled by its own freely programmable frequency synthesizer. A detailed description of the facility is followed by some flow measurement examples demonstrating the performance of MULTIMAG.
The effect of the nutation angle on the flow inside a precessing cylinder is experimentally explo... more The effect of the nutation angle on the flow inside a precessing cylinder is experimentally explored and compared with numerical simulations. The focus is laid on the typical breakdown of the directly forced m = 1 Kelvin mode for increasing precession ratio (Poincaré number) and the accompanying transition between laminar and turbulent flows. Compared to the reference case with a 90° nutation angle, prograde rotation leads to an earlier breakdown, while in the retrograde case, the forced mode continues to exist also for higher Poincaré numbers. Depending largely on the occurrence and intensity of an axisymmetric double-roll mode, a kinematic dynamo study reveals a sensitive dependence of the self-excitation condition on the nutation angle and the Poincaré number. Optimal dynamo conditions are found for 90° angle which, however, might shift to slightly retrograde precession for higher Reynolds numbers.
We present results on the synchronization of the helicity in a liquid-metal Rayleigh–Bénard exper... more We present results on the synchronization of the helicity in a liquid-metal Rayleigh–Bénard experiment under the influence of a tide-like electromagnetic forcing with azimuthal wavenumber m = 2. We show that for a critical forcing strength the typical large-scale circulation in the cylindrical vessel of aspect ratio unity is entrained by the period of the tide-like forcing, leading to synchronized helicity oscillations with opposite signs in two half-spaces. The obtained experimental results are consistent with and supported by numerical simulations. A similar entrainment mechanism for the helicity in the solar tachocline may be responsible for the astonishing synchronization of the solar dynamo by the 11.07-year triple synodic alignment cycle of the tidally dominant planets Venus, Earth, and Jupiter.
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2022
The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and t... more The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and the return flow instability is experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted using an MSC setup consisting of insulating spheres with the ratio of the inner to the outer radii r i/r o = 0.5, Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Hartmann number Ha ∈ [25, 29]. The transition is characterized by changes in the power spectra of the azimuthal modes in the flow as Ha is dynamically changed. The transition occurs in the interval Ha ∈ [26.5, 27.5]. The evolution of the power spectra of the azimuthal modes exhibits hysteretic effect depending on whether Ha is increased or decreased within the experimental interval. The power spectra in the azimuthal modes m ∈ {3, 4} increases and remains dominant as Ha is increased, while the power spectra in m ∈ {2, 4} are dominant while the flow is time dependent due to return flow instability as Ha is decreased.
We conduct magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow experiments in the return flow instability reg... more We conduct magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow experiments in the return flow instability regime with GaInSn as the working fluid, the ratio of the inner to the outer sphere radii ri/ro = 0.5, the Reynolds number Re = 1000, and the Hartmann number Ha ∈ [27.5, 40]. Rotating waves with different azimuthal wavenumbers m ∈ {2, 3, 4} manifest in certain ranges of Ha in the experiments, depending on whether the values of Ha were fixed or varied from different initial values. These observations demonstrate the multistability of rotating waves, which we attribute to the dynamical system representing the state of the MSC flow tending to move along the same solution branch of the bifurcation diagram when Ha is varied. In experiments with both fixed and varying Ha, the rotation frequencies of the rotating waves are consistent with the results of nonlinear stability analysis. A brief numerical investigation shows that differences in the azimuthal wavenumbers of the rotating waves that devel...
The successful application of the ultrasound Doppler method at hot channel flows by means of comm... more The successful application of the ultrasound Doppler method at hot channel flows by means of commercial high temperature probes is presented. To obtain sufficient Doppler signals, different problems have to be solved: the transmission of the ultrasonic beam through the channel wall made of stainless steel, the acoustic coupling between the transducer and the channel wall, and the wetting of the inner surface of the wall by the liquid metal, respectively. An integrated sensor concept and method are figured out to meet these requirements. The feasibility of this sensor concept is demonstrated at experiments in metallic melts at temperatures up to 230°C. Measurements are performed at a circular channel flow at the LIMMCAST facility at HZDR applying an eutectic bismuth-tin alloy. In addition, a lead-bismuth flow in a rectangular channel profile measured at the METAL:LIC loop at the Institute of Physics Riga (IPUL) is presented in this report.
We report Alfven-wave experiments with liquid rubidium at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laborat... more We report Alfven-wave experiments with liquid rubidium at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD). Reaching up to 63 T, the pulsed magnetic field exceeds the critical value of 54 T at which the Alfven speed becomes equal to the sound speed (plasma-$\beta$ unity). At this threshold we observe a period doubling of an applied 8 kHz CW excitation, a clear footprint for a parametric resonance between magnetosonic waves and Alfven waves.
The homogeneous dynamo effect is at the root of magnetic field generation in cosmic bodies, inclu... more The homogeneous dynamo effect is at the root of magnetic field generation in cosmic bodies, including planets, stars and galaxies. While the underlying theory had increasingly flourished since the middle of the 20th century, hydromagnetic dynamos were not realized in the laboratory until 1999. On 11 November 1999, this situation changed with the first observation of a kinematic dynamo in the Riga experiment. Since that time, a series of experimental campaigns has provided a wealth of data on the kinematic and the saturated regime. This paper is intended to give a comprehensive survey about these experiments, to summarize their main results and to compare them with numerical simulations.
The transition to turbulence in a precessing cylindrical vessel is experimentally investigated. O... more The transition to turbulence in a precessing cylindrical vessel is experimentally investigated. Our measurements are performed for a nearly resonant configuration with an initially laminar flow dominated by an inertial mode with azimuthal wave number m = 1 superimposed on a solid body rotation. By increasing the precession ratio, we observe a transition from the laminar to a non-linear regime, which then breakdowns to turbulence for larger precession ratio. Our measurements show that the transition to turbulence is subcritical, with a discontinuity of the wall-pressure and the power consumption at the threshold ϵLT. The turbulence is self-sustained below this threshold, describing a bifurcation diagram with a hysteresis. In this range of the control parameters, the turbulent flows can suddenly collapse after a finite duration, leading to a definitive relaminarization of the flow. The average lifetime 〈τ〉 of the turbulence increases rapidly when ϵ tends to ϵLT.
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