Temperature dependence of the magneto-controllable first-order phase transition in dilute magnetic fluids

Abstract

Experimental study was carried out to investigate the influence of particle size distribution function on the temperature dependent magneto-controllable first-order phase transition of the “gas–liquid” type in magnetic fluids. The study resolves one crisis situation in ferrohydrodynamic experiment made by several research groups in the 1980–1990s. It is shown that due to polydispersity magnetic fluids exhibit phase diagrams which are divided into three regions by vaporus and liquidus curves. Granulometric data states the primary role of the width of the particle size distribution function in the process of spinodal decomposition. New modified Langevin parameter is introduced for unification of liquidus curves of different ferrofluids despite the significant difference between the curves (one order of magnitude) in (H,T) coordinates.