Microdynamics of magnetic particles dispersed in complex media

Abstract

The aggregation of magnetic particles in the presence of a magnetic field is the basic phenomenon which underlies all the physics of magnetorheological (MR) fluids. Although these interactions are well understood when the suspending fluid is a simple liquid, new MR fluids based on dispersion of magnetic microparticles in a ferrofluid or MR elastomers based on dispersion of magnetic particles in a rubber matrix, present some unusual properties which are not well described by conventional theories. We analyze in this work the motion of magnetic particles dispersed in a ferrofluid and submitted to a magnetic field and discuss the possible applications.