AbstractThe end effects phenomenon is investigated in a MHD channel with finitely segmented electrode walls when the applied magnetic field decays as a sinusoidal function at the entrance and is constant inside the channel. the governing equations to determine the electric potential are solved numerically by the successive overrelaxation method. the normal current distribution and the electrical efficiency are calculated for various types of electrode spacing. It is found that the leakage currents are more for the case when the electrode length is greater than the insulator length, and the end losses are less.