Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

We use the multiphase magnetohydrodynamic code SFEMaNS to study the generation of electrovortex flows in liquid metal batteries. We first reproduce some well known results in a single-phase liquid metal column and then we characterize the electrovortex flow in layered multiphase fluid systems. A simple energy density balance argument accurately estimates the typical interface deformation caused by the electrovortex flow. When applied to Mg-Sb liquid metal batteries, we find that the electrovortex flows may have the capacity to cause short-circuits even in moderate size batteries with radii in the range [10, 20] cm.