towards a von karman dynamo: numerical studies based on experimental flows
Résumé
Numerical studies of a kinematic dynamo based on von Kàrmàn type flows between two counterrotating disks in a finite cylinder are reported. The flow has been optimized using a water model experiment, varying the driving impellers configuration. A solution leading to dynamo action for the mean flow has been found. This solution may be achieved in VKS2, the new sodium experiment to be performed in Cadarache, France. The optimization process is briefly described and discussed, then the effects of adding a stationary conducting layer around the flow on the threshold, on the shape of the neutral mode and on the magnetic energy balance are studied. Finally, the possible processes involved into kinematic dynamo action in a von Karman flow are reviewed and discussed. Among the possible processes we highlight the joint effect of the boundary-layer radial velocity shear and of the Ohmic dissipation localized at the flow/outer-shell boundary.