Abstract
Three-dimensional numerical calculations have been performed on liquid-metal magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) flow through a rectangular channel in the inlet region of a magnetic field, including a region upstream the magnetic field. The continuity equation, the momentum equations and the induction equations have been solved by the finite difference method. As the gradient of the magnetic field becomes steeper, the pressure peak in the inlet region becomes larger; however there is almost no change in the total pressure drop. When the aspect ratio of the channel cross section becomes smaller, the total pressure drop through the inlet region becomes smaller.
