Experiments and Simulations of the Magnetized Spherical Couette Problem

The magnetized spherical Couette system models experiments that are being carried out at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). A liquid metal is confined within two differentially rotating spheres and immersed in a magnetic field parallel to the axis of rotation. Preliminary simulations of periodic and quasiperiodic flows, arising at the first bifurcations, will be presented. The aim is to study in detail the instabilities observed in the experiments and previous numerical studies. This study will reveal how the flow patterns depend on control parameters, reproducing thus different physical situations of the HZDR experiments.