Modelling Rayleigh-Bénard convection coupled with electro-vortex flow in liquid metal batteries

Abstract Liquid Metal Batteries (LMBs) are a promising grid-scale energy storage technology that offers low costs per kilowatt-hour, high energy and current densities, as well as low fade rates. The all-liquid composition of the batteries, as well as the presence of temperature gradients and electric and magnetic fields, result in the occurrence of multiple fluid phenomena. These can affect the hydrodynamic stability of the battery, thereby making their interactions critical to understand. In this work, the interaction of Rayleigh-Benard convection and Electro-vortex flow is investigated as these types of flow will be present in Liquid Metal Batteries from laboratory to grid-scale. A single-layer electrode is simulated, and the computed results compared with experimental data from the literature. It was found that Rayleigh-Benard convection is unsteady in the liquid metal electrode. The introduction of a 2 A current stabilises the convection cells, whilst the introduction of a 40 A current leads to the dominance of Electro-vortex flow at the central region of the electrode. The results in this work match experimental data closer than previously published models offering insight into the interaction between Rayleigh-Benard convection and Electro-vortex flow in the anodes of discharging Liquid Metal Batteries.