arXiv subjects

R. D. Kendrick

Publications and source records attributed to R. D. Kendrick.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2007

Turbulent Diamagnetism in Flowing Liquid Sodium

The nature of Ohm's law is examined in a turbulent flow of liquid sodium. A magnetic field is applied to the flowing sodium, and the resulting magnetic field is measured. The mean velocity field of the sodium is also measured in an identical-scale water model of the experiment. These two fields are used to determine the terms in Ohm's law, indicating the presence of currents driven by a turbulent electromotive force. These currents result in a diamagnetic effect, generating magnetic field in opposition to the dominant fields of the experiment. The magnitude of the fluctuation-driven magnetic field is comparable to that of the field induced by the sodium's mean flow.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2006

Intermittent magnetic field excitation by a turbulent flow of liquid sodium

The magnetic field measured in the Madison Dynamo Experiment shows intermittent periods of growth when an axial magnetic field is applied. The geometry of the intermittent field is consistent with the fastest growing magnetic eigenmode predicted by kinematic dynamo theory using a laminar model of the mean flow. Though the eigenmodes of the mean flow are decaying, it is postulated that turbulent fluctuations of the velocity field change the flow geometry such that the eigenmode growth rate is temporarily positive. Therefore, it is expected that a characteristic of the onset of a turbulent dynamo is magnetic intermittency.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2005

Measurements of the magnetic field induced by a turbulent flow of liquid metal

Initial results from the Madison Dynamo Experiment provide details of the inductive response of a turbulent flow of liquid sodium to an applied magnetic field. The magnetic field structure is reconstructed from both internal and external measurements. A mean toroidal magnetic field is induced by the flow when an axial field is applied, thereby demonstrating the omega effect. Poloidal magnetic flux is expelled from the fluid by the poloidal flow. Small-scale magnetic field structures are generated by turbulence in the flow. The resulting magnetic power spectrum exhibits a power-law scaling consistent with the equipartition of the magnetic field with a turbulent velocity field. The magnetic power spectrum has an apparent knee at the resistive dissipation scale. Large-scale eddies in the flow cause significant changes to the instantaneous flow profile resulting in intermittent bursts of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields, demonstrating that the transition to a dynamo is not smooth for a turbulent flow.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2005

Observation of a Turbulence-Induced Large Scale Magnetic Field

An axisymmetric magnetic field is applied to a spherical, turbulent flow of liquid sodium. An induced magnetic dipole moment is measured which cannot be generated by the interaction of the axisymmetric mean flow with the applied field, indicating the presence of a turbulent electromotive force. It is shown that the induced dipole moment should vanish for any axisymmetric laminar flow. Also observed is the production of toroidal magnetic field from applied poloidal magnetic field (the omega-effect). Its potential role in the production of the induced dipole is discussed.

physics.plasm-ph↗