On the theory of the magnetic deformation of ferrogels

Abstract

The paper deals with theoretical study of deformation of a ferrogel sample under the action of an applied magnetic field. The main goal of this work is to determine the type of deformation - either elongation or contraction in the field direction. To answer this question and to avoid artificial conclusions, we have estimated the free energy of the deformed sample by using standard methods of statistical physics. The analysis shows that the type of magnetically induced deformation significantly depends on initial shape of the sample, the applied magnetic field, as well as on the concentration and magnetic properties of the magnetic particles embedded in the gel. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.