Numerical simulation of nonequilibrium plasma in Closed-Cycle MHD generator

The fluctuation of the inlet seed fraction always exists in the MHD facility. The effects of this kind of inlet fluctuation may cause the trouble for the performance of power generators. In this paper a numerical model for nonequilibrium plasma is developed, and a two-dimensional simulation of Closed-Cycle (CC) MHD power generator performance especially with the inlet seed fraction fluctuation has been carried out. The results show that the fluctuation of the plasma parameters and the flow field parameters induced by the inlet seed flucuation. the fluctuation can cause the instability of the non-equilibrium plasma and deteriorate the performance of the generator significantly.