Experimental studies on performance of a nonequilibrium disk MHD generator with radio-frequency preionization

The possibility of the improvement in performance of a nonequilibrium disk magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) generator by externally applying a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field (RF preionization) was examined experimentally. The MHD power generation experiments were carried out using a shock-tube driven disk MHD generator with the RF induction coils for the two inlet stagnation temperatures of 2275(/spl plusmn/75) K and 2650(/spl plusmn/50) K. As a result, under the conditions of both high and low stagnation temperatures, the output power was increased by the RF preionization. The increase was markedly observed for the low inlet stagnation temperature, where the plasma could not be produced only by the Joule heating attributed to a self-excited electromotive force. For the high inlet stagnation temperature, the plasma state in the MHD channel was improved by the RF preionization, leading to the increase in the output power. For the low inlet stagnation temperature, the marked increase in the output power by the preionization was not only because applying the RF electromagnetic field triggered the plasma production by the Joule heating attributed to a self-excited electromotive force but also because the plasma with the high electrical conductivity was produced in the more upstream region of MHD channel by the Joule heating attributed to the RF electromagnetic field.