Comparison of COMSOL® Simulation of Annular Linear Induction Pump with Mesh/Matrix and Equivalent Circuit Based Methods

P. Sharma[1]
[1]Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, India
Published in 2019

This paper deals with the numerical simulation of Annular Linear Induction Pump (ALIP) using Finite Element Method based software COMSOL Multiphysics® . ALIP is used for pumping of liquid sodium in various experimental facilities and in auxiliary circuits of fast reactors. Usually, the performance of ALIP is evaluated using equivalent circuit based approach. With the advent of multi-physics based software like COMSOL Multiphysics®, attempts were made to model the ALIP employing such software. This paper presents the results of this modeling of ALIP in COMSOL Multiphysics® . The model developed is a 2-dimensional axisymmetric model. The problem is solved in the time-harmonic domain where the currents and associated fields are assumed to be varying sinusoidally with time. Comparison of the results is made with conventional equivalent circuit method based calculations and also with results of mesh/matrix based code available in literature.

References :

[1] Handbook of Electromagnetic Pump Technology, Richard S. Baker, Manuel J. Tessier, Elsevier Publications, 1987.

[2] Kliman, Gerald B. (1979) ‘LARGE ELECTROMAGNETIC PUMPS’, Electric Power Components and Systems, 3:2, 129-142