Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Power Generation Magnetohydrodynamic power generation provides a way of generating electricity directly from a fast moving

stream of ionised gases without the need for any moving mechanical parts - no turbines and no rotary generators. Several MHD projects were initiated in the 1960s but overcoming the technical challenges of making a practical system proved very expensive. Interest consequently waned in favour of nuclear power which since that time has seemed a more attractive option. MHD power generation has also been studied as a method for extracting electrical power from nuclear reactors and also from more conventional fuel combustion systems Working Principle The MHD generator can be considered to be a fluid dynamo. This is similar to a mechanical dynamo in which the motion of a metal conductor through a magnetic field creates a current in the conductor except that in the MHD generator the metal conductor is replaced by conducting gas plasma. When a conductor moves through a magnetic field it creates an electrical field perpendicular to the magnetic field and the direction of movement of the conductor. This is the principle, discovered by Michael Faraday, behind the conventional rotary electricity generator. Dutch physicist Antoon Lorentz provided the mathematical theory to quantify its effects.

The flow (motion) of the conducting plasma through a magnetic field causes a voltage to be generated (and an associated current to flow) across the plasma, perpendicular to both the plasma flow and the magnetic field according to Fleming's Right Hand Rule Lorentz Law describing the effects of a charged particle moving in a constant magnetic field can be stated as F=QvB Where F is the force acting on the charged particle Q is charge of particle v is velocity of particle B is magnetic field The MHD System The MHD generator needs a high temperature gas source, which could be the coolant from a nuclear reactor or more likely high temperature combustion gases generated by burning fossil fuels, including coal, in a combustion chamber. The diagram below shows possible system components.

The expansion nozzle reduces the gas pressure and consequently increases the plasma speed (Bernoulli's Law) through the generator duct

to increase the power output. Unfortunately, at the same time, the pressure drop causes the plasma temperature to fall (Gay-Lussac's Law) which also increases the plasma resistance, so a compromise between Bernoulli and Gay-Lussac must be found. The exhaust heat from the working fluid is used to drive a compressor to increase the fuel combustion rate but much of the heat will be wasted unless it can be used in another process. The Plasma The prime system requirement is creating and managing the conducting gas plasma since the system depends on the plasma having a high electrical conductivity. Suitable working fluids are gases derived from combustion, noble gases, and alkali metal vapours. The Gas Plasma To achieve high conductivity, the gas must be ionised, detaching the electrons from the atoms or molecules leaving positively charged ions of the gas. The plasma flows through the magnetic field at high speed, in some designs, more than the speed of sound, the flow of the charged particles providing the necessary moving electrical conductor. Methods of Ionising the Gas Various methods for ionising the gas are available, all of which depend on imparting sufficient energy to the gas. It may be accomplished by heating or irradiating the gas with X rays or Gamma rays. It has also been proposed to use the coolant gases such as

Note that 90% conductivity can be achieved with a fairly low degree of ionisation of only about 1%. (Note also logarithmic scale)

helium and carbon dioxide employed in some nuclear reactors as the plasma fuel for direct MHD electricity generation rather than extracting the heat energy of the gas through heat exchangers to raise steam to drive turbine generators. Seed materials such as Potassium carbonate or Cesium are often added in small amounts, typically about 1% of the total mass flow to increase the ionisation and improve the conductivity, particularly of combustion gas plasmas. Containment Since the plasma temperature is typically over 1000 C, the duct containing the plasma must be constructed from non-conducting materials capable of withstanding these high temperatures. The electrodes must of course be conducting as well as heat resistant. The Faraday Current A powerful electromagnet provides the magnetic field through which the plasma flows, and perpendicular to this field are installed the two electrodes on opposite sides of the plasma across which the electrical output voltage is generated. The current flowing across the plasma between these electrodes is called the Faraday current. This provides the main electrical output of the MHD generator. The Hall Effect Current The very high Faraday output current which flows across the plasma duct into the load itself reacts with the applied magnetic field creating a Hall Effect current perpendicular to the Faraday current, in other words, a current along the axis of the plasma, resulting in lost energy. The total

current generated will be the vector sum of the transverse (Faraday) and axial (Hall effect) current components. Unless it can be captured in some way, the Hall effect current will constitute an energy loss. Various configurations of electrodes have been devised to capture both the Faraday and Hall effect components of the current in order to improve the overall MHD conversion efficiency. One such method is to split the electrode pair into a series of segments physically side by side (parallel) but insulated from each other, with the segmented electrode pairs connected in series to achieve a higher voltage but with a lower current. Instead of the electrodes being directly opposite each other, perpendicular to the plasma stream, they are skewed at a slight angle from perpendicular to be in line with the vector sum of the Faraday and Hall effect currents, as shown in the diagram below, thus allowing the maximum energy to be extracted from the plasma. Hall Effect - When a fixed conductor carrying an electric current is placed in an external magnetic field perpendicular to the current there is voltage drop across the conductor at right angles to the current which is proportional to the magnetic field. Used to measure magnetic field strength.

Power Output The output power is proportional to the cross sectional area and the flow rate of the ionised plasma. The conductive substance is also cooled and slowed in this process. MHD generators typically reduce the temperature of the conductive substance from plasma temperatures to just over 1000 C. An MHD generator produces a direct current output which needs an expensive high power inverter to convert the output into alternating current for connection to the grid. Efficiency Typical efficiencies of MHD generators are around 10 to 20 percent mainly due to the heat lost through the high temperature exhaust. This limits the MHD's potential applications as a standalone device but they were originally designed to be used in combination with other energy converters in hybrid applications where the output gases (flames) are used as the energy source to raise steam in a steam turbine plant. Total plant efficiencies of 65% could be possible in such arrangements. Experience Demonstration plants with capacities of 50 MW or more have been built in several countries but MHD generators are expensive. Typical use could be in peak shaving applications but they are less efficient than combinedcycle gas turbines which means there are very few installations and MHD is currently not considered for mainstream commercial power generation. magnetohydrodynamic power generator, any of a class of devices that generate electric power by means of the interaction of a moving fluid (usually an ionized gas or plasma) and a magnetic field. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power plants offer the potential for largescale electrical power generation with reduced impact on the environment. Since 1970, several countries have undertaken MHD research programs with a particular emphasis on the use of coal as a fuel. MHD generators are also attractive for the production of large electrical power pulses.

The underlying principle of MHD power generation is elegantly simple. Typically, an electrically conducting gas is produced at high pressure by combustion of a fossil fuel. The gas is then directed through a magnetic field, resulting in an electromotive force within it in accordance with Faradays law of induction . The MHD system constitutes a heat engine, involving an expansion of the gas from high to low pressure in a manner similar to that employed in a conventional gas turbogenerator. In the turbogenerator, the gas interacts with blade surfaces to drive the turbine and the attached electric generator. In the MHD system, the kinetic energy of the gas is converted directly to electric energy as it is allowed to expand. Interest in MHD power generation was originally stimulated by the observation that the interaction of a plasma with a magnetic field could occur at much higher temperatures than were possible in a rotating mechanical turbine. The limiting performance from the point of view of efficiency in heat engines was established early in the 19th century by the French engineer Sadi Carnot. The Carnot cycle, which establishes the maximum theoretical efficiency of a heat engine, is obtained from the difference between the hot source temperature and the cold sink temperature, divided by the source temperature. For example, if the source temperature is 3,000 K and the sink temperature 300 K, the maximum theoretical efficiency would be 90 percent. Allowing for the inefficiencies introduced by finite heat transfer rates and component inefficiencies in real heat engines, a system employing an MHD generator offers the potential of an ultimate efficiency in the range of 60 to 65 percent. This is much better than the 35 to 40 percent efficiency that can be achieved in a modern conventional plant. In addition, MHD generators produce fewer pollutants than conventional plants. However, the higher construction costs of MHD systems have limited their adoption.

Principles of operation In an MHD generator the hot gas is accelerated by a nozzle and injected into a channel. A powerful magnetic field is set up across the channel. In accordance with Faradays law of induction, an electric field is established that acts in a direction perpendicular to both the gas flow and the magnetic field. The walls of the channel parallel to the magnetic field serve as electrodes and enable the generator to provide an electric current to an external circuit. The power output of an MHD generator for each cubic metre of its channel volume is proportional to the product of the gas conductivity, the square of the gas velocity, and the square of the strength of the magnetic field through which the gas passes. For MHD generators to operate competitively with good performance and reasonable physical dimensions, the electrical conductivity of the plasma must be in a temperature range above about 1,500 C. The turbine blades of a gas-turbine power system are unable to operate at such temperatures. An adequate value of electrical conductivity10 to 50 siemens per metrecan be achieved if an additive, typically about 1 percent by mass, is injected into the hot gas. This additive is a readily ionizable alkali material, such as cesium, potassium carbonate, or sodium, and is referred to as the seed. While cesium has the lowest ionizing potential (3.894 electron volts), potassium (4.341 electron volts) is less costly. Even though the amount of seed material is small, economic operation requires that a system be provided to recover as much of it as possible. The hot gas with its seed is at a pressure of several million pascals. It is accelerated by a nozzle to a speed that may be in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 metres per second. The gas then enters the channel or duct, across which the magnetic field is applied. To produce a competitive MHD system, this magnetic field must have high intensity. Typically, a superconducting magnet is employed to provide a magnetic field in the range of three to five teslas across the channel. An electromotive force

acting in a direction perpendicular to both the flow and the field is set up, and the walls parallel to the magnetic field serve as electrodes to provide current to an external electric circuit. The remaining two walls of the channel are electric insulators. Theoretically, an MHD system with a gas conductivity of 25 siemens per metre, an average magnetic field of three teslas, and an average gas velocity of 1,000 metres per second is capable of generating electric power with a density of about 250 million watts per cubic metre of channel volume. A complicating feature of a plasma MHD generator is the occurrence of a pronounced Hall effect. This results from the behaviour of electrons in the presence of both magnetic and electric fields. Electrons in the plasma have a much higher mobility than ions. When electric load current flows across the channel, the electrons in this current experience a force directed along the channel. This is the Hall Effectnamed for its discoverer, the American physicist Edwin H. Hall. As a result of this effect, the electric current flows at an angle across the channel. An additional electric field, called the Hall field, is established along the axis of the channel. This in turn requires that either the electrode walls in a typical generator configuration be constructed to support this Hall field or that the Hall field itself be used as the output to drive current through the electric circuit external to the MHD system. A number of generator configurations have been devised to accommodate the Hall effect. In a Faraday generator, as shown in part A of the figure, the electrode walls are segmented and insulated from each other to support the axial electric field and the electric power is taken out in a series of loads. In the alternate configuration known as a Hall generator, the Faraday field across each sector of the channel is short-circuited and the sectors are connected in series. This allows the connection of a single electric load between the ends of the channel. Consideration of the electric potentials at different points in the channel leads to the observation that an

equipotential runs diagonally across the insulator walls and that electrodes may be appropriately staggered to match the equipotentials. The series connection of these electrodes in this diagonal generator permits a single electric load to be used. Major types of MHD systems Coal-fired MHD systems The choice of type of MHD generator depends on the fuel to be used and the application. The abundance of coal reserves throughout much of the world has favoured the development of coal-fired MHD systems for electric power production. Coal can be burned at a temperature high enough to provide thermal ionization. However, as the gas expands along the duct or channel, its electrical conductivity drops along with its temperature. Thus, power production with thermal ionization is essentially finished when the temperature falls to about 2,200 C. To be economically competitive, a coal-fired power station would have to combine an MHD generator with a conventional steam plant in what is termed a binary cycle. The hot gas is first passed through the MHD generator (a process known as topping) and then on to the turbogenerator of a conventional steam plant (the bottoming phase). An MHD power plant employing such an arrangement is known as an open-cycle, or once-through, system. Coal combustion as a source of heat has several advantages. For example, it results in coal slag, which under magnetohydrodynamic conditions is molten and provides a layer that covers all of the insulator and electrode walls. The electrical conductivity of this layer is sufficient to provide conduction between the gas and the electrode structure but not so high as to cause significant leakage of electric currents and consequent power loss. The reduction in thermal losses to the walls because of the slag layer more than compensates for any electrical losses arising from its presence. Also, the use of a seed material in conjunction with coal offers environmental benefits. In particular, the recombination chemistry that

occurs in the duct of an MHD generator favours the formation of potassium sulfate in the combustion of high-sulfur coals, thereby reducing sulfur dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The need to recover seed material also ensures that a high level of particulate removal is built into an MHD coal-fired plant. Finally, by careful design of the boiler and the combustion controls, low levels of nitrogen oxide emissions can be achieved.