Electromagnetics and MHD
Electrostatics, magnetostatics and MHD in OpenFOAM
Electric and magnetic field problems, and magnetohydrodynamic flow, using electrostaticFoam, magneticFoam and mhdFoam.
What it is
Field problems solved on the same mesh machinery as the flow solvers. MHD couples a magnetic field to a conducting fluid, so the field and the flow influence each other.
What the application sets up
- Potential and field boundary conditions
- Electrical and magnetic material properties
- Coupling terms for an MHD run
Typical uses
- Electrostatic field distribution and insulation
- Permanent-magnet field mapping
- Liquid-metal flow under a magnetic field
- Electromagnetic stirring and braking
Industries
Sectors where this analysis is routinely asked for.
- Metallurgy & casting
- Fusion & plasma research
- Electrochemical processing
- Research & academia
What comes out
- Velocity field under the field
- Induced current density
- Electromagnetic braking force
- Field-flow coupling strength
OpenFOAM solvers
electrostaticFoammagneticFoammhdFoam
Selected and configured for you from the analysis type. You can still see every dictionary the application writes.
In every tier
This analysis type is in the free build. The free tier limits mesh size to 250,000 cells and solving to one core — not which physics you may use.
On accuracy, plainly.
Every analysis type is exercised end to end on every pass — its case is generated, meshed and run — which establishes that the setup is right, not that the answer matches your geometry. No CFD result is evidence until it is checked against something you trust: a measurement, a hand calculation, or a mesh-refinement study the application will run for you. Treat these results with the judgement you would apply to any CFD you set up yourself.