Flow oscillations driven by a rotating magnetic field in liquid metal columns with an upper free surface

Oscillatory flow instabilities in a liquid metal cylinder with a free upper surface, exposed to a rotating magnetic field (RMF), are analysed by numerical simulations of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations. The critical Taylor number designating the onset of the oscillatory flow regime decreases with increasing aspect ratio A= H/R while the Taylor-number interval, where the flow oscillations occur, becomes narrower. The instability is initiated near the free surface, where an oscillatory variation of the size and position of the upper vortex in the secondary flow can be observed accompanied by a horizontal oscillation of the azimuthal velocity maximum at the free surface. The predicted flow regimes have been observed in corresponding model experiments with GaInSn using the Ultrasound Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) for flow field measurements. The occurrence of the oscillatory flow regime depends sensitively on the cleanliness of the liquid metal surface.