Hydrodynamics of nematic ferrofluids

The European Physical Journal E - We derive hydrodynamic equations for nematic ferrofluids (ferronematics) in the limit that the magnetic degree of freedom has relaxed to its equilibrium value. We...     

磁液磁光双稳特性的研究

本文基于磁液磁致双折射效应,实现了其磁光双稳特性的研究。理论上,建立了其磁光双稳传输模型、进行了计算机模拟,并在此基础上建立了相应的实验分析系统。研究表明:磁液薄膜具有良好的磁光双稳特性,可用作超长波红外波导器件。     

Rotational viscosity in ferrofluids

We have measured the rotational viscosity _r of a concentrated ferrofluid by observing the increase of critical angular velocity in a Taylor cell with two different magnetic field configurations. The results are compared to theoretical calculations for diluted ferrofluids at different relative orientations of the field and the vorticity of the fluid. The observed deviations are attributed to breakdown of the theory for concentrated ferrofluids.     

Ultrasound attenuation in ferrofluids

The absorption of acoustic energy by internal degrees of freedom of short chains is proposed as a new viable mechanism of ultrasound attenuation in ferrofluids. It is demonstrated that even though the volume fraction of the chains may be quite small, such an effect may reach the order of magnitude of viscous damping. In addition, by investigating the statistical properties of dimers in ferrofluids, it is shown that an applied magnetic field modifies the sound attenuation in a highly anisotropic manner. The proposed mechanism provides new insight into the fundamental issue of colloidal response, and, in particular, may lead to its utilization in novel experimental concepts.     

Transient magnetoviscosity of dilute ferrofluids

The magnetic field induced change in the viscosity of a ferrofluid, commonly known as the magnetoviscous effect and parameterized through the magnetoviscosity, is one of the most interesting and practically relevant aspects of ferrofluid phenomena. Although the steady state behavior of ferrofluids under conditions of applied constant magnetic fields has received considerable attention, comparatively little attention has been given to the transient response of the magnetoviscosity to changes in the applied magnetic field or rate of shear deformation. Such transient response can provide further insight into the dynamics of ferrofluids and find practical application in the design of devices that take advantage of the magnetoviscous effect and inevitably must deal with changes in the applied magnetic field and deformation. In this contribution Brownian dynamics simulations and a simple model based on the ferrohydrodynamics equations are applied to explore the dependence of the transient magnetoviscosity for two cases: (I) a ferrofluid in a constant shear flow wherein the magnetic field is suddenly turned on, and (II) a ferrofluid in a constant magnetic field wherein the shear flow is suddenly started. Both simulations and analysis show that the transient approach to a steady state magnetoviscosity can be either monotonic or oscillatory depending on the relative magnitudes of the applied magnetic field and shear rate.     

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of miscible ferrofluids

We study the stability of an interface between two inviscid magnetic fluids of different densities flowing parallel to each other in an oscillatory manner. The system is pervaded by a uniform oblique magnetic field distribution. The analysis allows for mass and heat transfer across the interface. A general eigenvalue relation is derived and discussed analytically. The classical stability criterion is found to be substantially modified due to the effect of the oblique magnetic field with mass and heat transfer. Some previous studies are reported for appropriate data choices. The longitudinal magnetic field has a strong stabilizing influence on all wavelengths, which can be used to suppress the destabilizing influence of the mass and heat transfer. We conclude with a discussion of the stability of unsteady shear layers on the basis of the results. The parametric excitation of the surface waves is analyzed by means of the multiple-time-scales method. The transition curves are obtained analytically.     

Magneto-dielectric properties of unpolar ferrofluids

The dielectric constant and the tangent of the loss angle for kerosene and transformer oil ferrofluids are determined. The dependence of the dielectric parameters is studied as a function of the electric field frequency, the ferrofluid magnetization as well as of the applied magnetic field direction.     

Towards ferrofluids with enhanced magnetization

It is well known that the saturation magnetization of a sterically stabilized magnetic fluid (ferrofluid) is limited by the presence of a surfactant coating on the surface, and in some cases, by an effectively demagnetized surface layer in the solid magnetic particle. These surface layers take up a disproportionate volume in the colloidal dispersion thereby severely limiting the volume fraction of the core magnetic substance. This work proposes and analyzes Janus particles having the objective of increasing the magnetic loading beyond the present day constraints. Using numerical computation of the virial coefficient it is calculated that the magnetic volume fraction of magnetite ferrofluids might be increased by a factor approaching 2 and that of iron-based ferrofluids by a factor of 3.     

Discrete particle size distribution in ferrofluids

We present a method to obtain stable discrete particle size distributions from the room temperature magnetization curves of ferrofluids. This method has been successfully applied to a hydrocarbon base magnetite ferrofluid.     

Magnetic colloidal properties of ionic ferrofluids

Magnetic properties of colloidal suspensions of γ-Fe₂O₃ particles, obtained through a chemical synthesis, are investigated. Using an optical technique it is verified that these ionic aqueous ferrofluids are stable in high fields. The magnetization saturation of the particles is found independent of their size. Electron microscopy, magnetization and birefringence measurements allow us to separate the two superparamagnetic processes existing in such ferrofluid solutions: Bulk and Néel rotations. The Néel process is investigated through remanent magnetization of frozen solution.     

Yield stress in thin layers of ferrofluids

We present results of theoretical study of quasielastic behavior of ferrofluid filling a thin flat gap, placed into perpendicular magnetic field. When the field exceeds a certain critical magnitude, magnetic particles form dense discrete domains, elongated along the field, and linking the gap boundaries. Due to these bridges between the gap boundaries, the ferrofluid exhibits quasielastic properties with respect to shear strain in the plane of the gap. We estimated the elastic modules as well as the yield stress of the system, depending on magnetic field and concentration of magnetic particles in the ferrofluid. Analysis shows that there are at least two microscopical mechanisms of transition from the elastic to fluid behavior of the ferrofluid. The first one is connected with the loss of the mechanical equilibrium of the domains, slopped, under the shear stress, with respect to applied magnetic field. The second mechanism is connected with breakup of the “bridge” into two separate drops, when the shear strain exceeds some critical magnitude. Estimates show that for real ferrofluids the second mechanism is more probable.     

Invalidation of the Kelvin force in ferrofluids

Direct and unambiguous experimental evidence for the magnetic force density being of the form MnablaB in a certain geometry-rather than being the Kelvin force MnablaH--is provided for the first time. ( M is the magnetization, H is the field, and B is the flux density.)     

Structuring from nanoparticles in oil-based ferrofluids

The effect of magnetic field on the structure formation in an oil-based magnetic fluid with various concentrations of magnetite particles was studied. The evaluation of the experimental data obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering and ultrasonic attenuation indicates the formation of chain-like aggregates composed of magnetite particles. The experimental data obtained from ultrasonic spectroscopy fit well with the recent theoretical model by Shliomis, Mond and Morozov but only for a diluted magnetic fluid. In this model it is assumed that a dimer is the main building block of a B -field-induced chain-like structure, thus the estimation of the nematic order parameter does not depend on the actual length of the structure. The scattering method used reveals information about the aggregated structure size and relative changes in the degree of anisotropy in qualitative terms. The coupling constant l \lambda , concentrations f \phi , average particle size d and its polydispersity s \sigma were initially obtained using the vibrating sample magnetometry and these results were further confirmed by rheometry and scattering methods. Both the particles’ orientational distribution and the nematic order parameter S were inferred from the ultrasonic measurements. The investigation of SAXS patterns reveals the orientation and sizes of aggregated structures under application of different magnetic-field strengths. In addition, the magnetic-field-dependent yield stress was measured, and a relationship between the yield stress and magnetic-field strength up to 0.5T was established.     

Adaptive mechanical-wetting lens actuated by ferrofluids

We report an adaptive mechanical-wetting lens actuated by ferrofluids. The ferrofluids works like a piston to pump liquids in and out from the lens chamber, which in turn reshapes the lens curvature and changes the focal length. Both positive and negative lenses are demonstrated experimentally. The ferrofluid-actuated mechanical-wetting lens exhibits some attractive features, such as high resolution, fast response time, low power consumption, simple structure and electronic control, weak gravity effect, and low cost. Its potential applications in medical imaging, surveillance, and commercial electronics are foreseeable.     

Parallel flow in hele-shaw cells with ferrofluids

Parallel flow in a Hele-Shaw cell occurs when two immiscible liquids flow with relative velocity parallel to the interface between them. The interface is unstable due to a Kelvin-Helmholtz type of instability in which fluid flow couples with inertial effects to cause an initial small perturbation to grow. Large amplitude disturbances form stable solitons. We consider the effects of applied magnetic fields when one of the two fluids is a ferrofluid. The dispersion relation governing mode growth is modified so that the magnetic field can destabilize the interface even in the absence of inertial effects. However, the magnetic field does not affect the speed of wave propogation for a given wave number. We note that the magnetic field creates an effective interaction between the solitons.     

Study of ferrofluids by Mössbauer spectroscopy

The parameters of the log‐normal size distribution of a MnFe₂O₄ ferrofluid powder sample have been determined by X‐ray diffraction. The mean blocking temperature was determined from the maximum of _Xi . Mössbauer spectra at 4.2–300 K are interpreted by a new simple theory of superparamagnetism and taking a reduction of the internal magnetic field for small particles, a size dependence of the anisotropy constant, the size distribution and collective excitations into account.     

The onset of thermomagnetic convection in stratified ferrofluids

A non-uniform magnetic field causes an inhomogeneous distribution of magnetic grains in colloidal magnetics (so-called ferrofluids). The rate of concentration equilibrium settling is very low owing to the smallness of the particle diffusion coefficient. Therefore, if the equilibrium does not have enough time to settle, a ferrofluid behaves like a pure fluid, so that stationary convection occurs and no other. In the opposite case, that is when some non-uniform concentration profile has been formed, an oscillatory instability arises. The latter can be effectively excited under the action of a low-amplitude time-periodic magnetic field of an appropriate frequency.