Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 220, 43-52 (2013)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2013-01795-1

Regular Article

Novel ultrasound array measurement system for flow mapping of complex liquid metal flows

¹ Laboratory of Measurement and Testing Techniques, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
² Department Magnetohydrodynamics, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), PO Box 510119, 01314 Dresden, Germany

^a e-mail: Richard.Nauber@tu-dresden.de
^b Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jürgen Czarske, e-mail: juergen.czarske@tu-dresden.de

Received: 17 December 2012
Revised: 5 February 2013
Published online: 26 March 2013

Abstract

In magnetohydrodynamics, model experiments are commonly conducted to investigate the interaction between magnetic fields and electrically conductive fluids. The available flow instrumentation for opaque fluids usually lacks the ability to capture and visualize a velocity field in one shot. We present a multidimensional ultrasound array Doppler velocimeter that employs multiple line arrays of transducers and allows the resolution of small scale structures in complex flows. The system achieves a lateral resolution up to 3 mm, an axial resolution of approx. 1.4 mm and frame rates up to 30 Hz in metal melts at room temperature. A flexible sensor arrangement allows for various measurement configurations, e.g. four planes can be measured simultaneously with one velocity component, two planes with two components or two lines with three components. We present an experiment in a square-shaped container driven by a rotating magnetic field and results of a model experiment for continuous steel casting. The measurement system has proven to be a powerful tool for research in magnetohydrodynamics.