Effects of conductivity jumps in the envelope of a kinematic dynamo flow

Abstract

This Note reports on numerical simulations of the kinematic dynamo action in a test flow modeling the Von Kármán Sodium (VKS) experiment performed at CEA-Cadarache. We show that the conductivity of the vessel greatly influences the critical magnetic Reynolds number. These effects are dramatically amplified as the ratio of the conductivity of the vessel to that of the sodium increases from 1 to 5.