Analysis of applied magnetic field and electrical current in
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accelerator due to electrical efficiency has been
numerically investigated. Studies were carried out using air plasma as a
working gas in equilibrium condition. Composition of simulated air-plasma
consists of two species, N2, and O2, with concentration of 1 mol
and 0.284 mol, respectively. The working gas is seeded with potassium and
seed fraction is 1% by weight of all gas, which corresponds to 0.949%
in mole ratio. In order to solve the set of differential equations with MHD
approximations, the MacCormack scheme is employed. The Magnetohydrodynamic
Augmented Propulsion Experiment (MAPX) channel designed and developed by
NASA MSFC is used to investigate the MHD accelerator performance. Numerical
results show the characteristic of MHD accelerator electrical efficiency
with variation of different applied magnetic field and electrical
input.