A Modelling Study Of Flow And Heat Transfer In The Vicinity Of An Electrode

Buoyancy and electromagnetically driven flow and heat transfer phenomena in the vicinity of top and bottom entering electrodes in a glass melt were studied using a mathematical model. The rate of joule heating and the Lorentz force components were calcualted by solving transport equations for the magnetic field intensity. This approach differs from the traditional approach of solving equations for the electric potential. The results showed that a top entering electrode gave a smaller circulation zone, smaller velocity scale, and larger overall temperature difference than a bottom entering electrode. The incustion of the Lorentz force had only a slight impact on the maximum velocity and essentially no impact on the temperature distribution.