THE MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC RESPONSE OF LIQUID OXYGEN: EXPERIMENTATION AND SIMULATION

Experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted to establish the basic understanding and predictive capability for the dynamics of a liquid oxygen (LOX) slug subjected to magnetic fields within a solenoid. The electrically-pulsed solenoids around a 1.9 mm ID quartz tube were capable of producing up to 1.1 T when immersed in liquid nitrogen. The slug dynamics were measured by pressure changes in a closed volume on both sides of the slug. A theoretical model was developed which balances the magnetic, viscous, and pressure forces into a single equation of motion. The model was applied to a one-dimensional discretized algorithm that solved the coupled multiphysics problem of the Navier-Stokes and Maxwell's equations. The simulation and experimental results established LOX as a good candidate in a magnetic fluid system without moving parts for cryogenic applications.