Comparative analysis of experimental and numerical data оn turbulent pipe flow of liquid metal affected by transverse magnetic field and heating from below

Daniil A. Berdyugin^a, Yaroslav I. Listratov^b, Ivan A. Belyaev<sup>a

a</sup> Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
^b National Research University «Moscow Power Engineering Institute», Moscow, Russian Federation

Abstract: The article presents the results of direct numerical simulation of mercury flow in a horizontal pipe under non-uniform bottom heating in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The study focuses on the analysis of hydrodynamics and heat transfer under conditions of thermogravitational convection induced by localized heating and magnetohydrodynamic effects. It is shown that the transverse magnetic field significantly suppresses transverse velocity components, stabilizes the flow, and alters the structure of convective vortices, leading to anisotropy in turbulent transport and the formation of characteristic Hartmann and boundary layers. Analysis of velocity and temperature fields reveals regimes of instability suppression and restructuring of large-scale circulation. A comparison of statistical characteristics of temperature fluctuation intensities, as well as dimensionless quantities, with experimental data [1] is performed. The comparison and analysis of the obtained results enhance the understanding of processes occurring in liquid metals under the combined influence of gravitational, thermal, and electromagnetic fields, which is of interest for the development of cooling systems in nuclear reactors with liquid metal coolants.

Keywords: liquid metal, DNS, convection, MCF, heat transfer, transverse magnetic field.

UDC: 537.84

Received: 10.08.2025
Received in revised form: 17.09.2025
Accepted: 27.10.2025

Language: English