08-16-2017, 10:59 PM
A magneto-hydrodynamic generator (MHD generator) is a magneto-hydrodynamic device that transforms thermal energy and kinetic energy into electricity. MHD generators are different from traditional electric generators because they operate at high temperatures without moving parts. MHD was developed because the hot exhaust gas from an MHD generator can heat the boilers of a steam plant, increasing overall efficiency. MHD was developed as a coverage cycle to increase the efficiency of electric generation, especially when burning coal or natural gas. The MHD dynamos are the complement to the MHD propellers, which have been applied to pump liquid metals and in several experimental engines of the ships.
An MHD generator, like a conventional generator, depends on moving a conductor through a magnetic field to generate electric current. The MHD generator uses hot conductive plasma as the moving conductor. The mechanical dynamo, on the other hand, uses the movement of mechanical devices to achieve this. MHD generators are technically practical for fossil fuels, but have been surpassed by other less expensive technologies, such as combined cycles in which the exhaust of a gas turbine or a fused carbonate fuel cell heats the steam to feed one steam turbine.Natural MHD dynamos are an active area of research in plasma physics and are of great interest to the communities of geophysics and astrophysics, since the magnetic fields of the earth and the sun are produced by these natural dynamos.
