Ferrofluid pipe flow in an oscillating magnetic field

Abstract

Ferrofluid pipe flow in an oscillating magnetic field along the pipe axis is studied theoretically in a wide range of the flow rate. The field-dependent part of viscosity (it can be positive or negative) reveals significant dependence on the flow vorticity, i.e., ferrofluids exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. This is manifested in an alteration of the velocity profile—it ceases to be parabolic—and deviation of the flow rate from the value prescribed by Poiseuille’s formula. The presented model based on the conventional ferrohydrodynamic equations and an assumption of the ferrofluid structure fits well experimental data recently obtained by Schumacher, Sellien, Konke, Cader, and Finlayson [“Experiment and simulation of laminar and turbulent ferrofluid pipe flow in an oscillating magnetic field,” Phys. Rev. E 67, 026308 (2003)].