Theoretical estimate and characteristics of electro-vortex flows in cylindrical electrodes

Electro-vortex flows (EVF) arise in conducting fluids due to diverging current lines and the non-conservative Lorentz force. They are typically characterized by the $S$ parameter, defined as $S=\mu _0 I^2/4\pi^2 \rho \nu^2$, where it is known that $Re \sim \sqrt{S}$ for large currents. However, the strength of the EVF in a confined cylindrical domain with a co-axially placed current collector (CC) depends also on the ratio of the CC radius to the cylinder radius, $K=r_0/R$, in addition to the current magnitude, $I$, fluid density, $\rho$ and kinematic viscosity, $\nu$. For high $Re$, using the vorticity transport equation, we derive a new theoretical estimate of the r.m.s. EVF velocity and find that $u \propto I (1-K)/\sqrt{K}$. We validate our estimate with numerical simulations using our custom-built code in \textsc{OpenFOAM} for $K\in[0.1,0.7]$ and $I\in[30,555]$A. In addition, for the same range, we compare our numerical results with the estimates of maximum EVF velocity available in the literature. We also discuss the EVF characteristics for varying $K$ using the vorticity dynamics. Finally, we also propose a \emph{modified} EVF parameter ($S_M \propto S (1-K)^2/{K}$) based on our velocity estimate that includes $K$. Our results suggest that the scaling relationship should actually be $Re \sim \sqrt{S_M}$.