Scalar transport and perturbation dynamics in intermittent magnetohydrodynamic flow

The phenomenon of large-scale intermittency in the magnetohydrodynamic channel flow with imposed spanwise magnetic field discovered by Boeck et al. [Large-scale intermittency of liquid-metal channel flow in a magnetic field, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 244501 (2008)] is further investigated. Numerical simulations are conducted to analyze features of the intermittent regime, such as transport of a passive scalar, distribution of perturbation energy between mean flow and fluctuations, and the effect of the strength of the magnetic field. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4748351]