Biomagnetic fluid flow in a 3D rectangular duct

The laminar, incompressible, three‐dimensional, fully developed viscous flow of a non‐conducting biomagnetic fluid in a impermeable rectangular duct is numerically studied in the presence of an applied magnetic field. It is assumed that the magnetic field strength is sufficiently strong to saturate the biofluid and the magnetization is given as a function of the magnetic field intensity. The system of the partial differential equations, resulting after the introduction of appropriate non‐dimensional variables, is solved applying an efficient numerical technique based on a pressure‐linked pseudotransient method on a common grid. Results concerning the existence and the uniqueness of the solution, are also given. The obtained results, for different values for the parameters entering into the problem under consideration, show that the flow is appreciably influenced by the presence of the magnetic field. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.