Boundary layer control in magnetohydrodynamic flows

Abstract

The possibility of controlling turbulent flow fields by the action of electromagnetic forces is numerically investigated. A suitable configuration of magnets and electrodes can generate a body force within a electrically conducting fluid that influences the boundary layer. The vortex shedding usually generated behind a circular cylinder can be suppressed, and the skin friction over a turbulent supersonic flat plate can be decreased by an appropriate electromagnetic body force.