Liquid metal exposed to rotating and travelling magnetic fields in crucibles with circular and square cross-sections

R. R. Siraev¹ - S. Yu. Khripchenko²

¹ Perm National Research Polytechnic University, 29 Komsomolsky pr., 614990 Perm, Russia
² Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics of the Ural Branch, RAS, 1 Korolev str., 614013 Perm, Russia

Abstract
In this work, we study the possibility of intensifying heat and mass transfer processes in liquid metals in crucibles with circular and square cross-sections by imposing a travelling magnetic field in addition to a rotating magnetic field. This makes it possible to generate in these crucibles not only a toroidal flow of liquid metal driven by a rotating magnetic field, but also a poloidal flow driven by a travelling magnetic field. Our numerical experiments have revealed that an additional (relatively weak) poloidal flow generated by a travelling magnetic field causes larger asymmetries in the toroidal flow in the square crucible compared to the flow in the circular crucible. Also, a distortion in the plane of rotation of a toroidal vortex has been found, which considerably increases the vertical velocity component of the melt in the crucible, intensifying thus heat and mass transfer processes in the stirred metal. Tables 1, Figs 8, Refs 14.