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The smooth Ponomarenko Dynamo

In this work, we study a class of continuous generalisations of the kinematic Ponomarenko Dynamo, in an annulus with perfectly conducting boundary conditions.\par We first consider the fundamentals of dynamo theory, deriving the governing equations and a general numerical code to find the growth rates for all modes and magnetic Reynolds numbers $R$. We concentrate on three types of flow fields: (a) flows which approximate the discontinuous Ponomarenko dynamo, (b) full solutions of the Navier Stokes driven by an axial pressure gradient and moving boundaries, and (c) flows where both the axial and azimuthal velocity components are powers of the cylindrical radius. Good agreement is found between the numerical results and the known asymptotic theory for large $R$. The smallest $R$-values permitting dynamo action are found, along with the values which gives rise to the fastest growing mode.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:721564
Date January 2016
CreatorsWynne, James
ContributorsMestel, Jonathan
PublisherImperial College London
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/49215

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