Electronic edition ISSN 1574-0579

Behaviour of magnetic particles in a liquid under a non-uniform magnetic field and gravity

K. Tomiyama^{1, 2} , Y. Ido¹

¹ Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
² Department of Urethane Engineering, TOKAI RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD, 1 Higash 3-chome,Komaki-shi, Aichi-ken,485-8550 Japan

Abstract
In this study, the behavior of magnetic particles under an applied non-uniform magnetic field is investigated numerically and experimentally. Two typical behaviours are observed: magnetic particles form chain clusters, and chain cluster groups are formed at the top and bottom areas. Simulation results agree well with these observation results. The aggregation effects are taken into account by introducing the fill factor in the simulation. The fill factor is a crucial parameter to describe the behaviour of magnetic particles under the magnetic field. Tables 2, Figs 10, Refs 2.