Operating conditions which yielded the peak thermodynamic efficiency (41 percent) for an ETFsize MHD/steam plant were previously identified by considering only the active region (the primary portion for power production) of an MHD channel. In this paper, the efforts of the previous study are extended to include the investigation of the effects of the channel end regions on the overall power generation. Considering these effects the peak plant thermodynamic efficiency is found to be slightly lowered (40.7 percent) and the channel operating point for the peak efficiency is shifted to the supersonic mode (Mach No., M c-v 1.1) rather than the previous subsonic operation (M c-\. 0.9). The sensitivity of the channel performance to the B-field, diffuser recovery coefficient, channel load parameter, Mach number, and combustor pressure is also discussed. In addition, methods for operating the channel in a constant-current mode are investigated. This mode of channel operation is highly desirable from the standpoint of simplifying the current and voltage consolidation for the inverter system. This simplification could result in significant savings in the cost of the equipment. The initial results of this study indicate that this simplification is possible, even under a strict Hall field constraint, with reasonable plant thermodynamic efficiency (40.5 percent).
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