The effect of radiative-convective heat transfer on the formation of current layer

A two-dimensional computational model is suggested for the calculation of radiative-convective heat transfer in the channel of an MHD generator with a self-sustaining current layer (T-layer). The calculation results demonstrate that the characteristic features of the T-layer dynamics include the development of hydrodynamic instability of the Rayleigh-Taylor type and the flow of electrically nonconducting gas past the discharge region. These physical mechanisms lead to irregularity and nonstationarity of flow in the channel; in so doing, the discharge region changes its structure periodically and exists both as several current-conducting channels and as a unified plasma formation.