Sedimentation of two non-magnetic particles in magnetic fluid

Abstract

Magnetic fluid is a stable suspension of solid phase magnetic particles of diameter about 10 nm in a nonmagnetic carrier fluid like water or alcohol. Nowadays, the magnetic fluid is widely used in industry areas such as sealing, damping, lubricating, sound regulation, heat dissipation, and MHD beneficiation. Researchers have paid great attention to the behaviors of non-magnetic particles (NPs) in the magnetic field because magnetic fluid containing NPs can form different microstructures, which are easily controlled by applying a magnetic field. In order to appropriately use the properties of magnetic fluid in industry, it is necessary to study the interaction among NPs in detail. In this paper, a multi-physical numerical model is employed to investigate the sedimentation of two NPs in magnetic fluid subjected to an applied magnetic field. The magnetic fluid flow is simulated by lattice Boltzmann method, and magneto hydrodynamics is calculated with a self-correcting procedure of a Poisson equation solver, which enables the Ohm's law to satisfy its conservation law. A dipole force model is used to obtain the dipole interaction force between particles. In addition, as the permeability of the magnetic fluid is quite different from those of the NPs and magnetic fluid, correctly establishing the conjugate boundary condition of the magnetic intensity at the interface between the particles and surrounding fluid is a key because it affects the magnetic induction in the fluid-structure interaction area. A smooth transition scheme of the conjugate boundary condition for magnetic intensity at the interface between the particles and surrounding fluid is used in this work. The aim of this work is to investigate sedimentation of two NPs in magnetized magnetic fluid. By changing the ratio of magnetic permeability and the magnetic parameter, it is found that altering the ratio of magnetic permeability is more effective to change the trajectories of NPs, while changing the magnetic parameter can just give rise to a slight transform of particle trajectories. This can provide good theoretical support for the application of magnetic fluid in industry area, because the results in the present simulation can quantitatively analyze the controlling of the movement of NPs.