DR.K.N.

MODI UNIVERSITY, NEWAI, RAJASTHAN

A
SYNOPSIOS
ON

MAGNETO-HYDDRODYNAMIC POWER
GENERATION

Submitted

To

Submitted By
Mr. Gaurav Sharma

Salil Kumar Gautam

Assistant Professor

B. Tech (EEE)

(DKNMU)

2012BTEE005

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION
A Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) generator produces electrical power. As in a conventional
generator, it produces power by moving a conductor through a magnetic field. The moving
conductor in a standard generator is a coil of copper wire. Unlike a standard electrical generator,
the MHD contains no moving parts. In the MHD, the conductor is a fast moving hot plasma gas.
In conventional steam power plants, the heat released by the fuel is converted into rotational
mechanical energy by means of a thermo cycle and the mechanical energy is then used to drive
the electric generator. Thus two stages of energy conversion are involved in which the heat to
mechanical energy conversion has inherently very low efficiency. Also, the rotating machine has
its associated losses and maintenance problems. In MHD generation, electrical energy is directly
generated from hot combustion gases produced by the combustion of fuel without moving parts.
The conventional electrical machines are basically electro mechanical converters while an MHD
generator is heat engine operating on a turbine cycle and transforming the internal energy of gas
directly into electrical energy.

MOTIVATION
Eighty percent of the worlds total electricity is hydal, while the remaining comes from
nuclear, thermal, solar, Geothermal and energy from magneto-hydrodynamic generators. MHD
looks most promising of the direct conversion techniques for the larger scale production of the
electricity of electric power. It is observed that economic and physical factors will lead to design
outputs of the order of 1000 MW. In fact MHD is really of interest only for central power
generation, its potentialities for a propulsion unit are remote.

OBJECTIVE
Magneto-hydrodynamic power generation provides a way of generating electricity
directly from a fast moving stream of ionised gases without the need for any moving mechanical
parts - no turbines and no rotary generators. Several MHD projects were initiated in the 1960s
but overcoming the technical challenges of making a practical system proved very expensive.
Interest consequently waned in favour of nuclear power which since that time has seemed a more
attractive option.MHD power generation has also been studied as a method for extracting
electrical power from nuclear reactors and also from more conventional fuel combustion systems

INNOVATIVENESS AND USEFULLNESS

International co-operation has been prominent in the development of MHD power
generation over the past 3 decades, research and development in MHD has been accompanied by
a considerable upswing in the international co-operation. The India R and D programme on
MHD started in 1977. It concentrates on developing necessary competence in this area. The
benefits occurring from a full fledged MHD programme are two fold. Apart from cheap

generation of electricity and conservation of known resources of fossil fuel, MHD have influence
in various areas of refractory materials, metals and alloys, a better understanding of the super
conducting technology , development of efficient high temperature, high pressure heat changers
and reactors.

CONCLUSION
There is a far influence of MHD power generation in the fields of nuclear, aerospace,
defence, chemical and metallurgy. Cheap and large scale power production problems could be
resolved by the development of more efficient MHD Generators