Magnetohydrodynamic effects in liquid metal batteries

Metal pad instabilities in liquid metal batteries.

A mechanical analogy is used to analyze the interaction between the magnetic field, electric current, and deformation of interfaces in liquid metal batteries. In the framework of a low-mode, nondissipative, linear stability model, it is found that, during charging or discharging, a sufficiently large battery is prone to instabilities of two types. One is similar to the metal pad instability kno...

Tayler instability in liquid metal columns and liquid metal batteries

In this paper we investigate the Tayler instability in an incompressible, viscous and resistive liquid metal column and in a model of a liquid metal battery (LMB). Detailed comparisons between theory and numerics, both in linear and nonlinear regimes, are performed. We identify the timescale that is well adapted to the quasi-static (QS) regime and find the range of Hartmann numbers where this a...

A Liquid-Metal Based Spiral Magnetohydrodynamic Micropump

A liquid-metal based spiral magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump is proposed in this work. The micropump was fabricated in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-glass hybrid microfluidic chip. This pump utilized two parallel liquid-metal-filled channels as electrodes to generate a parallel electrical field across the pumping channel between the two electrodes. To prevent contact and cross contamination ...

Liquid metal batteries: past, present, and future.

Fluid Mechanics of Liquid Metal Batteries

The design and performance of liquid metal batteries (LMBs), a new technology for gridscale energy storage, depend on fluid mechanics because the battery electrodes and electrolytes are entirely liquid. Here, we review prior and current research on the fluid mechanics of LMBs, pointing out opportunities for future studies. Because the technology in its present form is just a few years old, only...