A m agneto-hydrodynamic Stokes flow

By N. R il e y *
Department of Mathematics, University of Manchester

{Communicated by M . J . Lighthill, F.R.S.— Received 26 July 1960)

This paper considers the slow flow of a viscous, conducting fluid past a non-conducting sphere
a t whose centre is a magnetic pole. The magnetic Reynolds num ber is assumed to be small,
and the modifications to the classical Stokes flow and the free magnetic pole field are
obtained for an arbitrary H artm ann number. The to tal drag D on the sphere has been
calculated, and the ratio D/Ds determined as a function of the H artm ann num ber M , where
D s is the Stokes drag. In particular
(D —D s)/Ds =-2^ M 2+ 0(M 4) for small M
and (D - D s)/Ds ~ 0 r7 2 0 5 M - l as M ->oo.

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n
[When an electrically conducting fluid flows in the presence of a magnetic field,
electric currents induced in the fluid modify the field and produce mechanical forces
which modify the motion. The present paper considers the slow flow of a con­
ducting fluid p ast a non-conducting sphere a t the centre of which is a magnetic
pole.
W hen the Reynolds num ber R, based on the undisturbed velocity of the stream
and th e radius of the sphere, is sufficiently small the solution of the problem, in
the absence of a magnetic field, is th a t first given by Stokes (see Lamb 1932).
Chester (1957) considers the problem of the low Reynolds num ber flow of a con­
ducting fluid past a sphere in the presence of a magnetic field which, a t infinity,
is uniform and in the direction of flow of the fluid. More recently Barthel & Lykoudis
( i960) and Ludford & M urray ( i960) have considered the low Reynolds number
flow and the inviscid flow, respectively, past a sphere in the presence of a magnetic
field due to a dipole situated a t the centre of the sphere. The authors mentioned
above restricted themselves to the case of small H artm ann num ber M, so th a t the
ratio of th e electromagnetic forces to the ordinary viscous forces is small. Their
solutions, therefore, merely represent small perturbations to the classical Stokes
and inviscid flows past a sphere. The purpose of the present work is to investigate
how the classical Stokes flow is modified when the magnetic field is th a t due to a
magnetic pole, of arbitrary strength, a t the centre of the sphere.
Like the Reynolds num ber the magnetic Reynolds num ber R M is assumed to
be small; Resler & Sears (1958) have shown th a t small magnetic Reynolds numbers
occur most frequently in practice. Since the magnetic Reynolds number is assumed
to be small solutions of the equations of motion for the pressure, velocity and
magnetic fields are developed as series in ascending powers of R M. For small
H artm ann num ber the solution represents a perturbation of the classical Stokes
* P re se n t address, D e p a rtm e n t o f M ath em atics, T he D u rh a m Colleges, U n iv ersity o f
D urham .
[ 79 ]
80 N. Riley
flow and of the free magnetic pole field, the drag on the sphere, referred to the
classical Stokes drag, being proportional to For large H artm ann number the
flow is dominated by the electromagnetic forces rather than the ordinary viscous
forces and asymptotic solutions of the relevant equations are found, the leading;
term in the asymptotic expansion of the drag coefficient being now proportional
to M ; the magnetic field, however, is still a perturbation of the free pole field. Some
of the im portant physical quantities have also been calculated numerically and are
compared graphically with the results obtained analytically for both small and large
H artm ann number.
2. E q u a t io n s o f m o t io n

The equations of motion governing the steady flow of an incompressible, viscous,

conducting fluid in the presence of a magnetic field are, in e.m.u.,

'\(p.Y )v' = — +/ij'A H ' +prV 2v', (!)

V .v ' = 0, ( 2)

V aH' = 471j', (3)

V .H ' = 0, (4)
V a E ' = 0, (5)f*
j' = <r(E'+/iv'AH'), m
where v', H ', j', E' a n d p ' represent the velocity, magnetic, current density, electric
and pressure fields respectively. The density p, kinematic viscosity v, permeability
[i and conductivity cr are assumed constant.
For flow past a sphere of radius a, a t the centre of which is a magnetic pole of!
strength h, we may define dimensionless variables

v = \'jU , H = H'/h, r = r'/a, =

where U is the speed of the fluid a t infinity and r' the radial distance measured from
the centre of the sphere. On rearranging equations (1) to (6) we may now write them
as
M2
-fi(v.V) v = - \ p + — (V a H ) a H + V2v , (7)

VaVaH = ^ V a (v a H), ( 8)

V .v = 0, V .H = 0, (9)
where R = Uajv is the Reynolds number, R M = 4 is the magnetic Reynolds
number and M= p\h\a{crjpv)^ is the H artm ann number
H artm ann number is the absolute value of the definition which is usually quoted. .
Cowling (1957) shows how the induction drag can be regarded as a ‘magnetic
viscosity ’ tending to destroy the motion of the fluid across the lines of force and I
th a t the------------
square off lL
the- T
H1--1— ’
artm ann number is a measure of- the
- ratio of- these
- magnetic
viscous forces to the ordinary viscous forces.
 A magneto-hydrodynamic Stokes flow 81
On th e assum ption th a t th e Reynolds num ber is negligibly small, equations
I ') and (8) become, when we take the curl of equation (7) and use the fact th a t both
and H are solenoidal fields,
V a V a V av = V a [(V a H) a H], (10)

V2H + £ m V a (v a H) = 0, ( 11 )

! la tte r equation describing th e balance between diffusion of th e magnetic field

md convection of the field with th e fluid. The condition th a t convection dominates
fiffusion is th a t R M should be large compared w ith unity. In the present case, where
is assumed to be small, the magnetic field near th e sphere will not be greatly
distorted from th e free pole field, although a t distances from the sphere large
ompared w ith the radius of the sphere convection will always become im portant.
E quations (9), (10) and (11) are then the required equations for the quantities
and H. The boundary conditions a t infinity are
H = 0, (12)
vr =—cos
ve = sin#, (14)
jl Where in spherical polar co-ordinates v = (vr, ve, 0), 6 being measured from the
eading stagnation point. A t th e sphere r = 1 we have
v = 0 (15)
tnd, on the assum ption th a t th e perm eability y takes the same value everywhere,
magnetic field H is continuous w ith the field inside th e sphere. The magnetic
ield inside th e sphere, where no currents are flowing, satisfies the equations
V a H = 0, (16)
V .H = 0, (17)
with H ~ (r~2, 0, 0) as r -> 0.
The pressure p is determined by the mom entum equation.

3. S olution of the equations

Since R at is assumed to be small we shall seek a solution of our equations in the

'orm, v \ 0 + R m v 1+ . . . , (18)

H Ho + i ^ H j - j - ...; (19)

fact, only v0, H 0 and H x will be considered here. Substituting these values of v
and H into equations (9), (11), (16) and (17) gives th e equations to be satisfied
by H 0, nam ely v
Va*v
Va H 0„ = o
ah 0, V .H „ = 0 (r > 1),
and V aH 0 0, V .Hf 0 1 ).

solution of these, satisfying all the boundary conditions, is

H 0 = (r~2, 0, 0), (20)

Vol. 260. A.
6
 82 N. Riley
for all r. Thus H 0is the basic free magnetic pole field and H xrepresents a perturbation
of this. The equations to be satisfied by v0 and H x are similarly obtained, using
equation (20). F o r r > 1,
V a V a V av0 = J f 2V a [(V a H x) a H 0], (21)

V A V A Hj = V A (v0A H 0), ( 22 )

V . v0 = 0, (23)
V .H x = 0, (24)
subject to the boundary conditions
v0 = ( —cos0, sin 0, 0), (25)
Hj = 0 (26) )
a t infinity, and v0 = 0 (27)
a t the sphere. Also H x must be continuous with the field inside the sphere, which
satisfies the equations V a H i = 0 j v .H , = 0. (28)

Inside the sphere we have an axially symmetrical potential problem the solution
of which is, taking account of the nature of the singularity a t 0,

Hx= ( £ nanr ^ P n{coa6),- £ anr ^ P ' n{cosO)smO,o\, (29)

vra=l n=l )

the constants an being determined from the boundary condition a t 1. For

i
t > \ the equation of continuity (23) is satisfied if the velocity components are
given, in terms of the stream function ^ 0(r, 0), by
1 0^ o 1 di/r0
Vor~ r 2 s in d W V°9 rain6 dr ’ (30)

where v0 — (v^, v06, 0). Equation (24) for H x is similarly satisfied by a function
T ^ r, 0). A solution of equations (21) and (22) can now be found in the form
= \r 2f{r) s
T*i = \ r 2h(r) sin20,
where the fu n ctio n s/an d h satisfy the equations

/ lv + ^ - + f.2 ^2 ^ U’ (31)
r
4K’ f 2/
h" + — + ~i + ~i= 0. (32)
The boundary conditions are
= —1, h= 0 at r = oo, (33) j
/ =/' = 0 at r= 1, (34)
and the continuity condition for H x a t r —1; the prim
with respect to r.At r= 1 we have
H x = (A(l)cos 0, —(&(!) + p '( l ) ) sin 0,0}, (35)
 A magneto-hydrodynamic Stokes flow 83
and in order to satisfy th e continuity condition a t the sphere we see, from equations
(29) and (35), th a t ^ = i( 1 ) . = 0, 4=1, (36)

fc'(l) = 0. (37)
The field inside the sphere is then given by H = (Hr, 0), where
Hr = (Ilr*) + K c o s 0 + ...,
H0 = —sKin # 4-
w ith K = R )M , (
and th e equation of any line of force is
\ K r 2sin2
F or r > 1 we have to solve equations (31) and (32) simultaneously under the
boundary conditions (33), (34) and (37); however, integrating equation (32) once,
using (34) and (37) gives y = _ ^ 2 (40)

which enables equation (31) to be reduced to

fiv. OF" i ty" W M2 (V 6A (41)

I t is convenient here to introduce a new independent variable such th a t

x — rjM, (42)
so th a t, from (33), (34), (37), (40), (41), and (42),
"fS,8/ " /" 8/ ' 6/(43)
/ iv + ~ + H—&= 0,

w ith f = —1 a t a; = co, (44)

/(iH -1) = / ,(ilf-1) = 0, (45)
and m ' = - f l x 2, (46)
w ith h —0 at x — <X)\
where the primes now denote differentiation w ith respect to a;. Equation (46) can
in fact be integrated to give
6M h = x T + 4a:3/ " - 4a:2/ ' - f ' + A , (48)

where the constant A is given by

A = [4a;2/ ' - 4*»/' - (49)
I t is shown in the appendix th a t equation (43) has four independent solutions
Fx{x), F2(x ), F3(x ),F^x ), where F1 ~ x 2,F
Consequently f =^ +^ ^ + ^ + aA

where a x, a 2, a 3 and a 4 are constants, and th e boundary condition (44) a t infinity

gives a x = 0, a 2 = —1,
6-2
 84 N . R ile y
whilst the conditions (45) a t the sphere give
F ^ M - 1) F '^M -1) - F ^’ M - 1) Ft(M~l )
a, = ~ (51)
F ^ M - 1) Fi(M~x) - F ^ M - ^ F ^ M - 1) ’
F9(M - 1) F '^ M -1)- F '^ M -1) F2{M -x)
(52)
F ^ M - ^ F ' ^ M - 1) - '
For small values of M the constants a3 and a 4 may be readily determined from the
behaviour, given in the appendix, of F3and F4 for large values of their argument x,
and similarly when M is large the asymptotic behaviour of a3 and a 4 can be deter­
mined from the asymptotic behaviour of Fz and Fi near = 0. For interm ediate
values of M the values of a 3 and a 4 may be obtained by integrating equation (43)
numerically.
For small values of M equations (73) and (74) lead to,
3 SIM
2M + u o +<***>■ (53)

1 139 In M^
cc, = -
2i f 3;+ 280 ■»*■+ -„ M5in (54)
Consequently
_37 3 139 ln r
fir) = - [ i 3 ) + 0 (M 4), (55)
2r + 2r* 140r 4r2~*~280r3 gf3 280r 5/
and
153 _L In r __ 1 \
280r2- T4r3
-5 +
1120r4 20r4 560r6/
The terms of 0{1) in equation (55) represent the classical Stokes solution, the
order terms being a perturbation of this; thus the ordinary viscous forces dominate
the motion when M is small, a fact already noted in § 2. From equations (19), (20),
and (56) we see th a t the ratio of the second to the first term in the series for Hr is
0(F Mr)showing how the solution breaks down a t large distances from the sphere,
where convection is im portant, in exactly the same way as the classical Stokes
solution breaks down.
For large values of M equations (77), (87) and (93) give

(57)

and 157 _ ?2y

y \ a., ~ 1024
^450 15/ ” 3 135(7 (58)

where C = 4-9350 and y is Euler’s constant. Hence

f(r)----- — - (59)
JK ’ 15CM3 )\
in the neighbourhood of the sphere. In this case, with M large, the electromagnetic
forces dominate the motion.
 A magneto-hydrodynamic Stokes flow 85

4. R esults
I
'j| Some of the more im portant physical features of the flow, for example, the drag
dm the sphere and the shape of the lines of force, are examined in this section using
ifche results derived in § 3.
Consider first the total drag on the sphere, due to the pressure forces, viscous
forces and electromagnetic forces; the only electromagnetic forces are those due to
^surface stresses. I f er^ is th e stress tensor then we may write the to tal drag as

D = j {(<rr6)r==1sin 0 —(<rrr)r=1 cos <9} 2na2sin 6 (60)

Jo

Iwhere the components of stress are

(61)

M 2 TT I r, p r U / l d v rdVff v0 (62)
r 0+ a \ r dO + 0r )•
^Substituting for the components of the velocity and magnetic fields, and w ith the
[(pressure p determ ined from the mom entum equation, equation (60) becomes, in
iterm s o f/(r) and h(r),
( D - D S)IDS= _ iM % (l) + t r ( l ) + i / " ( l ) - l , (63)
vwhere Ds =QnpvUa is the classical Stokes drag. F or small values of the drag
)coefficient, given by (63), may be evaluated, using equations (55) and (56), as
( D - D S)IDS= & (6
For large values of M we see from equation (59) th a t the term s in v o lv in g /a n d its
derivatives in the expression (63) for the drag coefficient make a contribution which
vanishes as M oo, the largest contribution to the drag coming from the first term
which is of electromagnetic origin. From equations (42) and (48) A(l) is given as
6M (1) (65)

where the constant A is given by

( 66 )

For large values of M we see from equation (57) th a t a3 ~ 16/3 and hence
h{ 1) ~ -16I3(67)
which, using the numerical value of C, gives
( D - D S)IDS - 0-7205Jf—1 (68)
as M -> oo. Figure 1 shows the drag coefficient ( as a function of M 2,
together w ith the approximations (64) and (68) for small and large values of M,
respectively.
The shape of the lines of force of the magnetic field is most conveniently expressed
in term s of the param eter K occurring in equation (39) which gives, in effect, a
 86 N. Riley

F ig u re 1. T he drag coefficient (Z> —D s )/D s ;------ , num erical in te g ra tio n ;------ , ap p ro x im atio n
for sm all M ; -------------, asy m p to tic expansion for large M .

F ig u r e 2 . T he shape factor K , for th e m agnetic field, occurring in eq u atio n ( 39 ) ; ------ , n u m e ri­

cal in tegration; , approxim ation for sm all M ; — ----------, asy m p to tic expansion for
large M .
 A magneto-hydrodynamic Stolces flow 87
teasure of the am ount by which the lines of force, a t the sphere, are displaced from
eie free pole field due to convection of the magnetic field downstream. Thus when
' = 0 the lines of force a t the sphere are coincident w ith the lines of force due to the
s ee magnetic pole. W ith K given by equation (38) we can readily obtain values of
Wi/JSjyr for small and large values of M from equations (56) and (67), respectively,
hus for small M ,
m = - I + tH o (69)

whilst for large values of J f, Zt(l) ~ 1-0807/Jf. (70)

T h e m ag n etic field w hen R m = 0*1, = 0; th e d irectio n o f flow is from

le ft to rig h t. T he b ro k en lines in d ic ate th e corresponding free pole field.

m figure 2 —K j R M is shown as a function of From equation (70) we see th a t

is M-> oo, K-» 0 ; this is in agreement with the physical ideas given by Cowling
>1957) and outlined in § 2. The action of the electromagnetic forces is to inhibit the
motion of the fluid across the lines of force, thus as the pole strength increases the
component of velocity normal to the lines of force, and consequently the convection
iffects, decrease although it still remains true th a t a t large distances from the sphere
convection dominates diffusion.
. In conclusion, figures 3 and 4 show typical patterns of both the lines of force and
die streamlines, respectively. Figure 3 shows the lines of force when R M = 0-1
and M —0, the corresponding lines of force for a free pole being included for
comparison, while figure 4 compares the streamline pattern, in the neighbourhood
if the sphere, when M — 10 w ith the corresponding classical Stokes flow s
nines. The squeezing together of the streamlines is due to the tendency of the
component of velocity normal to the lines of force to be destroyed.
88 N. Riley

\{r - 1*125 ■

xjr = 0*5 .

ifr = 0*125

F ig u r e 4 . Com parison of th e stream line p a tte r n for 10 (----- ) w ith th e classical Stokes i
stream lines (------ ); th e position of th e stream lines a t infinity is in d icated (-------- -— ).

A ppendix
By Frobenius’s method four independent solutions of equation (43) can be
obtained in the forms
F2 = (l+ 3 /4 * 2), (71)
which is an exact solution,
2,27^1 , 11 (2?7 + 5 ) 2 ( 2 ? t + 3 ) * - 2 “ - 4
(72)
1 X 3 2 11* + 24*2 3 n5o (2n + 4) (2w + 2) (2n + 6)! ’

„ _ 4 5 ® (2n + 4)2 (2n + 2) x~2n~3

(73)
4 ~ 7 nt 0 (2tT+ 3) ’

F3 =x - 1+ ( ^ In * - i f £) + IF*, (74)
where
F* = Y (2n+ 4)2(2n + 2) *-2^-3 (
+•
3 nt ‘o(277 + 3)(27i + l)(277 + 5)!( + t + 3 + " ’ ' (2w + 5)
1 1 1 1 |
(75)
+ (277 + 1")+ (2ti + 3) “ (2n + 2) ” (ti + 2)j

I t will be observed th a t Fx is the only solution which does not remain finite
as * -> oo.
The solutions given by equations (71) to (75) are in a form which is most suitable
for calculating / for large values of *, a fact which has already been made use of in
§ 3. Near * = 0, which is an irregular singularity of equation (43), only the asymp­
totic behaviour of Fx, F3 and Fx can be determined; F2, of course, is an exact
solution.
 A magneto-hydrodynamic Stokes flow 89
Considering first the solution F4,w ith x 1/y we have, from
00
(2 n + 4)2 (2 n + 2) 3
= n? 0 (2rc + 3)(2w+l)(2rc + 5)!
; ( 1 i i 9 /2tt-l~3
o \ ( 2 n + 4)!+ (2 n + 5) !+ 2{2n + 3) (2n + 5)!+ + 1) + 5)!

r—1
r(2y - y ) ( c o s h y - l j - f ^ y ^ + l j - i | y + i ( l + fy 2) f ^ ^ - - d (76)
Jo y
jA s y oo we see from equation (76) th a t,
Ft ~ %5- {y-1 + ~2 + 5y~3 + ...),
i.e. E4(a;) ~ %5-e1/a:(a; + a;2+ 5a;3 + ...) as a;->0. (77)
[ Similarly we m ay discuss the asym ptotic behaviour of Fx near = 0. W riting
[ equation (72) as 11
= x2+§F2lnX + ^T2 - 1^ 1’ (78)

y (2% + 5)2 (2w + 3) y2w+4

I where
1 _ nt'o(2^+4)(2w + 2)(2w + 6)!
iis (2y~x- y) (sinh y - y ) - T3e(2 + 1) (cosh - 1 - |-y2)
"y cosh —1
- ^ y 2+ i ( 1 + f y 2) J o dy, (79)

e, as y-> oo, JP* ~ xe?/ (y-1 + y~2+ 5y~3+ ...), (80)

and, therefore, Fx(x) ~ —| e 1/a:(a; + a;2+ 5a;3 + ...) as a; -> 0. (81)
Equations (77) and (81) indicate th a t Fx and have similar behaviour as -> 0,
both being large; hence consider,
/ f 00 \
§FX+ £ F 4 = - & e~ y y{ - 1 - 2y~x- +1(1 + f y2) + J^
/ which becomes
f 00e -J/
P I + ¥ p 4- = - T6 (y - 1 - 2y_1 - 2y-2) + i ( 1 + ly 2) — dy, (82)
jv y
j where y is E uler’s constant. Thus, as x -> 0, we have from equation (82),
P x+ ¥ p 4 —17-^2 ~ ©”1/x (a; —a;2 + 5a;3 + ...). (83)
lIt remains to consider Fz given by (74), and in particular F$. I t can be shown from
> equation (75) th a t,
F z= T3e(2y- 1- y ) G(y) - j^ ( 2 y - 2+ 1) ( F ( y ) - y )
0 „ I Cv F(y) 1 .r f ^ s in h w .
(84)
+ i ( 1 + ^ {J „ I T ^ + J. y IJ. ” dM
y sinh y - sinh (y —t)
where m = J‘ (85)
o ^
y cosh y —cosh (y —t) ( 86 )
and G(y) = f
Ji
90 N. Riley
Thus, as 2/ -> oo, F$ ~ ±(ln?/ + y)e*'(?r1+ y '2+ 52 r3 + •••)
giving, as x-
> 0, i^a;) ~ ( |y —W ') el/x (# + 3:2 + + •••)• (87)
Again F3has similar asymptotic behaviour to Fl and Consider
F p = F3+ ( i U - r%y)Fi
= y- ( 88 )

then it can be shown that,

Ft*= «84 ( 2 s r 1 ■- y)e{ » J “ ^~rdt

[ /♦*> e - t _ i
- e \ ( 2 y - 2+ ') { e yj y T dt + e~ J o ~ ~ T dt
+ M 2y~x+ y ) ~ ¥2' e~v(ln y + r) (

+ T 6 ( 1 + 1 2 /2 ) {< ? ~ J 2 T 1 e?/| y V + e - y ( ln ? / + 7 + J J ^ 7 ” d *) d ^ } (89)

w(2w + 2)!i/_2,l'“1
ft^ (l + iy * ) - 3 S (90)
i (2n— 1) (2n + l )2 ’
as y-> oo, where
C I* t/-1Je^J ^ d f + e ^ l n y + y + J^^y-^df^jdy (91)

= 4-9350. (92)
Hence, as x -> 0,
w(2w + 2)!a;2n+:l
FS+ ( r H ~ T57 ) -^4 —~16^^2 ~ — 3 S (93)
n = l ( 2 w - l ) ( 2 n + l) 2(2w + 3)*

The author is indebted to Mr E. J. W atson for his interest in the singularity, a t

x = 0, of equation (43).
R eferences

B arth el, J . R . & L ykoudis, P . S. i960 J . F luid Mech. 8, 307.

C hester, W. 1957 J . F luid Mech. 3 , 304.
Cowling, T. G. 1957 Magnetohydrodynamics. N ew Y o rk : In terscien ce.
L am b, H . 1932 Hydrodynamics, 6th ed. C am bridge U n iv ersity Press.
L udford, G. S. S. & M urray, J . D. i960 J . F luid Mech. 7 , 516.
Resler, E . L. & Sears, W . R . 1958 J . Aero. Sci. 25, 235.