Process Diagnostics

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) investigates the interaction between electrically conductive fluids and electromagnetic fields. Research at the HZDR is dedicated to

• liquid metal technologies for high-temperature energy transfer, liquid metal batteries as stationary energy stores, in use in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and in the casting of steel and light metals,
• innovative methods for the electrification of industrial processes at high temperatures, and
• the development of special measuring techniques for liquid metal technologies and electrified industrial processes.

Research

Energy Storage and Energy Con­version with Liquid Metals

Liquid metals offer a range of benefits when used for energy storage and energy con­version: cost-effective production, high cycle numbers and high scalability

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Electro­magnetic process control.

The optimization of processes in metallurgy or in the crystallization of semiconductor materials with regard to product quality and energy efficiency requires a profound understanding of the flow processes in the melts.

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Measurement techniques for liquid metals and electrified industrial processes

The knowledge of velocity structures or of the gas distribution in liquid metals is of great interest in laboratory experiments as well as in industrial applications. The opaqueness of those fluids prevents the use of well established optical methods. Additionally, the corrosiveness and the high temperatures are challenges for measurement techniques.

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Electrification of industrial processes

Innovative electrical and inductive heating ­techno­logies are implemented in high-temperature processes in steelmaking, glass and ceramics production, the cement industry and chemical engineering to replace fossil sources.

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Development of multiphase measurement instrumentation

The development and validation of computational fluid dynamics models and codes require experimental data with high spatial and temporal resolution. Such valueable data can be obtained by suitable experimental studies at our thermal hydraulic test facilities TOPFLOW and TOPFLOW+.

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recent publications in peer-reviewed journals and books