Numerical simulation of surface deformations in a three-fluid process stirred by low frequency magnetic field

A process allowing the treatment of solid low-activity nuclear wastes (metals and organic matter) is currently being developed by the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission). During elaboration part of the process, some metal covered by conditioning glass is melted and stirred by low-frequency magnetic field. The pressure originating from Lorentz forces creates a steep dome on the surface of the metal, which can emerge from the glass. It is important to know the position of the interfaces between the fluids to determine heat and momentum transfers through them in order to get better insight for further development of the process. The goal of the presented numerical study is to obtain the positions of the three interfaces (glass-air, glass-metal and metal-air). It consists of a coupling between two commercial software: COMSOL Multiphysics to calculate magnetic field, and ANSYS Fluent for the three-phase flow (VOF). The results obtained have been validated by some measurements on the prototype.