Magnetohydrodynamic Power Generator

magnetohydrodynamic power generator, any of a class of devices that generate electric power by means of the interaction of a moving fluid (usually an ionized gas or plasma) and a magnetic field. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power plants offer the potential for large-scale electrical power generation with reduced impact on the environment. Since 1970, several countries have undertaken MHD research programs with a particular emphasis on the use of coal as a fuel. MHD generators are also attractive for the production of large electrical power pulses.

The underlying principle of MHD power generation is elegantly simple. Typically, an electrically conducting gas is produced at high pressure by combustion of a fossil fuel. The gas is then directed through a magnetic field, resulting in an electromotive force within it in accordance with Faraday’s law of induction (named for the 19th-century English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday). The MHD system constitutes a heat engine, involving an expansion of the gas from high to low pressure in a manner similar to that employed in a conventional gas turbogenerator (see figure). In the turbogenerator, the gas interacts with blade surfaces to drive the turbine and the attached electric generator. In the MHD system, the kinetic energy of the gas is converted directly to electric energy as it is allowed to expand.

Interest in MHD power generation was originally stimulated by the observation that the interaction of a plasma with a magnetic field could occur at much higher temperatures than were possible in a rotating mechanical turbine. The limiting performance from the point of view of efficiency in heat engines was established early in the 19th century by the French engineer Sadi Carnot. The Carnot cycle, which establishes the maximum theoretical efficiency of a heat engine, is obtained from the difference between the hot source temperature and the cold sink temperature, divided by the source temperature. For example, if the source temperature is 3,000 K (about 2,700 °C, or 4,900 °F) and the sink temperature 300 K (about 30 °C, or 85 °F), the maximum theoretical efficiency would be 90 percent. Allowing for the inefficiencies introduced by finite heat transfer rates and component inefficiencies in real heat engines, a system employing an MHD generator offers the potential of an ultimate efficiency in the range of 60 to 65 percent. This is much better than the 35 to 40 percent efficiency that can be achieved in a modern conventional plant. In addition, MHD generators produce fewer pollutants than conventional plants. However, the higher construction costs of MHD systems have limited their adoption.