27 research outputs found
Ferrohydrodynamics: testing a new magnetization equation
A new magnetization equation recently derived from irreversible
thermodynamics is employed to the calculation of an increase of ferrofluid
viscosity in a magnetic field. Results of the calculations are compared with
those obtained on the basis of two well-known magnetization equations. One of
the two was obtained phenomenologically, another one was derived
microscopically from the Fokker-Planck equation. It is shown that the new
magnetization equation yields a quite satisfactory description of
magnetiviscosity in the entire region of magnetic field strength and the flow
vorticity. This equation turns out to be valid -- like the microscopically
derived equation but unlike the former phenomenological equation -- even far
from equilibrium, and so it should be recommended for further applications.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Comment on "Magnetoviscosity and relaxation in ferrofluids"
It is shown and discussed how the conventional system of hydrodynamic
equations for ferrofluids was derived. The set consists of the equation of
fluid motion, the Maxwell equations, and the magnetization equation. The latter
was recently revised by Felderhof [Phys. Rev. E, v.62, p.3848 (2000)]. His
phenomenological magnetization equation looks rather like corresponding
Shliomis' equation, but leads to wrong consequences for the dependence of
ferrofluid viscosity and magnetization relaxation time on magnetic field.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Dissipation in ferrofluids: Mesoscopic versus hydrodynamic theory
Part of the field dependent dissipation in ferrofluids occurs due to the
rotational motion of the ferromagnetic grains relative to the viscous flow of
the carrier fluid. The classical theoretical description due to Shliomis uses a
mesoscopic treatment of the particle motion to derive a relaxation equation for
the non-equilibrium part of the magnetization. Complementary, the hydrodynamic
approach of Liu involves only macroscopic quantities and results in dissipative
Maxwell equations for the magnetic fields in the ferrofluid. Different stress
tensors and constitutive equations lead to deviating theoretical predictions in
those situations, where the magnetic relaxation processes cannot be considered
instantaneous on the hydrodynamic time scale. We quantify these differences for
two situations of experimental relevance namely a resting fluid in an
oscillating oblique field and the damping of parametrically excited surface
waves. The possibilities of an experimental differentiation between the two
theoretical approaches is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, to appear in PR
A molecular dynamics study on the equilibrium magnetization properties and structure of ferrofluids
We investigate in detail the initial susceptibility, magnetization curves,
and microstructure of ferrofluids in various concentration and particle dipole
moment ranges by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We use the Ewald
summation for the long-range dipolar interactions, take explicitly into account
the translational and rotational degrees of freedom, coupled to a Langevin
thermostat. When the dipolar interaction energy is comparable with the thermal
energy, the simulation results on the magnetization properties agree with the
theoretical predictions very well. For stronger dipolar couplings, however, we
find systematic deviations from the theoretical curves. We analyze in detail
the observed microstructure of the fluids under different conditions. The
formation of clusters is found to enhance the magnetization at weak fields and
thus leads to a larger initial susceptibility. The influence of the particle
aggregation is isolated by studying ferro-solids, which consist of magnetic
dipoles frozen in at random locations but which are free to rotate. Due to the
artificial suppression of clusters in ferro-solids the observed susceptibility
is considerably lowered when compared to ferrofluids.Comment: 33 pages including 12 figures, requires RevTex
Enhancement of the magnetic anisotropy of nanometer-sized Co clusters: influence of the surface and of the inter-particle interactions
We study the magnetic properties of spherical Co clusters with diameters
between 0.8 nm and 5.4 nm (25 to 7500$ atoms) prepared by sequential sputtering
of Co and Al2O3. The particle size distribution has been determined from the
equilibrium susceptibility and magnetization data and it is compared to
previous structural characterizations. The distribution of activation energies
was independently obtained from a scaling plot of the ac susceptibility.
Combining these two distributions we have accurately determined the effective
anisotropy constant Keff. We find that Keff is enhanced with respect to the
bulk value and that it is dominated by a strong anisotropy induced at the
surface of the clusters. Interactions between the magnetic moments of adjacent
layers are shown to increase the effective activation energy barrier for the
reversal of the magnetic moments. Finally, this reversal is shown to proceed
classically down to the lowest temperature investigated (1.8 K).Comment: 13 figures submitted to Phys. Rev.
Stochastic resonance in a system of ferromagnetic particles
We show that a dispersion of monodomain ferromagnetic particles in a solid
phase exhibits stochastic resonance when a driven linearly polarized magnetic
field is applied. By using an adiabatic approach, we calculate the power
spectrum, the distribution of residence times and the mean first passage time.
The behavior of these quantities is similar to their corresponding ones in
other systems in which stochastic resonance has also been observed.Comment: Latex, 5 figures available on reques
Granular Solid Hydrodynamics
Granular elasticity, an elasticity theory useful for calculating static
stress distribution in granular media, is generalized to the dynamic case by
including the plastic contribution of the strain. A complete hydrodynamic
theory is derived based on the hypothesis that granular medium turns
transiently elastic when deformed. This theory includes both the true and the
granular temperatures, and employs a free energy expression that encapsulates a
full jamming phase diagram, in the space spanned by pressure, shear stress,
density and granular temperature. For the special case of stationary granular
temperatures, the derived hydrodynamic theory reduces to {\em hypoplasticity},
a state-of-the-art engineering model.Comment: 42 pages 3 fi
Landau-de Gennes free energy expansion for nematic polymers
The Landau-de Gennes free energy expansion coefficients for nematic polymers are evaluated on the basis of a molecular-statistical model. It is proved that the obtained expansion provides a reliable qualitative description of the phase transition to the nematic state for polymers with arbitrary molecular length and rigidity. It is demonstrated that this transition is always of the first-order type and the jump of the order parameter is weakly dependent on the molecular length and rigidity.Les coefficients du développement de l'énergie libre de Landau-de Gennes des polymères nématiques sont évalués dans le cadre d'un modèle moléculaire statistique. Nous montrons que le développement obtenu foumit une description qualitative fiable de la transition de phase vers l'état nématique pour des polymères de rigidité et de longueur moléculaire arbitraires. Cette transition est toujours du premier ordre. Le saut du paramètre d'ordre ne dépend que faiblement de la longueur et de la rigidité des molécules
Ferrofluids: nanomotors and nanogenerators
We submit a CoFe2O4 ferrofluid in rigid rotation to an alternating magnetic field. Rotational viscosity and transverse magnetization are measured simultaneously. Depending on the relative values of fluid vorticity and field frequency, the magnetic particles behave as nanomotors or nanogenerators. It demonstrates the energy conversion between the magnetic and kinetic degrees of freedom of the particles