Design and manufacture of a modular cylindrical apparatus for ferrofluid experimentation

Ferrofluids, colloidal suspensions of coated magnetic nanoparticles inside a carrier fluid, respond to externally applied magnetic fields. This thesis addresses the behavior of these fluids when subjected to an azimuthally rotating uniform magnetic field. In order to test the theory that fluid flow in this situation is driven by non-uniform magnetic properties originating from container shape, it is necessary to test ferrofluids in cylindrical vessels of varying aspect ratio. A stacking modular solution was designed and constructed to provide the proper apparatus for these tests. Experiments were conducted to investigate fluid flow patterns, and initial results indicate support for the theory of non-uniform demagnetizing effects as the cause of fluid flow in cylinders of finite height.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Schoen, Katrina Leigh

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Markus Zahn.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68542

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/68542