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| MHD generator | |
|---|---|
| Name | MHD generator |
| Invented | 20th century |
| Inventor | Andrei Sakharov; development by Soviet Union and United States |
| Application | electrical power generation, propulsion |
| Fuel source | coal, natural gas, nuclear, plasma |
| Devices | Faraday generator, Hall generator, Alfven generator |
MHD generator
A magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator converts kinetic and thermal energy of a conducting fluid or plasma into electrical energy by means of the interaction between the fluid and a magnetic field. It bridges concepts developed in studies by Michael Faraday, Hannes Alfvén, and experiments at laboratories such as Los Alamos National Laboratory, Kurchatov Institute, and industrial programs in Westinghouse Electric Company. Research involved major organizations including Central Electric Generating Board, General Electric, Soviet Ministry of Power Engineering, and projects funded by agencies like the United States Department of Energy and NASA.
Operation relies on magnetohydrodynamics theory developed by Hannes Alfvén, Lev Landau, and later formalized in plasma physics at institutions such as Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. A conductive flow—often ionized gas from combustion or plasma from tokamak research—moves through a static magnetic field provided by magnets manufactured by firms such as Siemens or produced in cryogenic systems pioneered by Cambridge University groups. According to the Lorentz force law attributed to work by Hendrik Lorentz and experimental foundations from Michael Faraday, moving charges in the fluid experience forces that separate charges across electrodes, generating an electromotive force between anode and cathode, a principle explored in Faraday generator literature. Theoretical treatment uses the Navier–Stokes equations extended with Maxwell's equations, as in textbooks by Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz.
Early concepts trace to Michael Faraday's 19th-century experiments and subsequent theoretical advances by Hannes Alfvén and Andrei Sakharov. Practical programs emerged during World War II-era and Cold War research at Soviet Academy of Sciences facilities and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University in the United States. Notable projects include Soviet test rigs at the Kurchatov Institute and US demonstrations under programs managed by Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Industrial interest fluctuated with energy crises influencing agencies such as the United States Department of Energy and corporations like General Electric, Westinghouse, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Design variants include Faraday-type linear generators inspired by Michael Faraday; Hall-type channels named after effects studied by Edwin Hall; and Alfvenic plasma generators linked to concepts by Hannes Alfvén. Configurations range from closed-cycle seeded-gas burners used in tests at Westinghouse Research Laboratories to open-cycle coal-fired channels developed in Soviet Union testbeds. Superconducting magnet systems, employing materials and techniques refined at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN, enable higher field strengths. Electrodeless induction generators and disk generators reflect innovations influenced by work at M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory and Caltech laboratories.
Reported performance in demonstration plants—documented by agencies including the United States Department of Energy and research centers such as NASA Lewis Research Center—showed high theoretical thermodynamic efficiency when integrated with Brayton or combined-cycle systems, a concept examined in studies linking Sadi Carnot-based analysis with magnetohydrodynamic flows. Experimental peak electrical conversion efficiencies in small rigs approached values competitive with conventional turbines when seeding agents (e.g., alkali metals from chemical suppliers such as Dow Chemical Company) increased conductivity. Scaling to utility-scale plants raised engineering issues addressed in collaborations between Electric Power Research Institute and national labs like Argonne National Laboratory.
Proposed and experimental applications include topping cycles in coal- or gas-fired power plants studied by General Electric and Westinghouse; direct-drive marine propulsion concepts explored by Naval Research Laboratory; space power units investigated by NASA for high-power electric propulsion; and pulse power devices researched at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Pilot installations were trialed in the Soviet Union and in university research facilities at University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University.
Technical obstacles stem from electrode erosion and materials degradation exacerbated by high-temperature corrosion, a materials science concern researched at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Channel wall insulation, plasma instabilities studied with methods from Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, and magnet technology constrained by cryogenics and superconducting development at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab limited commercialization. Economic constraints, integration with existing grids overseen by grid operators such as National Grid (UK) and California Independent System Operator and regulatory environments shaped by bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency influenced viability.
Environmental assessments referenced emissions frameworks from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and pollution control models applied in studies by Environmental Protection Agency and European Environment Agency. MHD topping cycles promised reduced emissions per kWh by raising thermal efficiency in coal plants evaluated under programs by International Energy Agency and national utilities such as Électricité de France and Tokyo Electric Power Company. Economic evaluations compared capital costs to conventional combined-cycle gas turbines produced by Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and factored in research funding from agencies including the United States Department of Energy and Russian Academy of Sciences.
Category:Electric power conversion devices