Department of Chemistry

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Browsing Department of Chemistry by Author "Afkhami, Shahriar"

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    Deformation of a hydrophobic ferrofluid droplet suspended in a viscous medium under uniform magnetic fields
    Afkhami, Shahriar; Tyler, A. J.; Renardy, Yuriko Y.; Renardy, Michael J.; St Pierre, T. G.; Woodward, R. C.; Riffle, Judy S. (Cambridge University Press, 2010-11)
    The effect of applied magnetic fields on the deformation of a biocompatible hydrophobic ferrofluid drop suspended in a viscous medium is investigated numerically and compared with experimental data. A numerical formulation for the time-dependent simulation of magnetohydrodynamics of two immiscible non-conducting fluids is used with a volume-of-fluid scheme for fully deformable interfaces. Analytical formulae for ellipsoidal drops and near-spheroidal drops are reviewed and developed for code validation. At low magnetic fields, both the experimental and numerical results follow the asymptotic small deformation theory. The value of interfacial tension is deduced from an optimal fit of a numerically simulated shape with the experimentally obtained drop shape, and appears to be a constant for low applied magnetic fields. At high magnetic fields, on the other hand, experimental measurements deviate from numerical results if a constant interfacial tension is implemented. The difference can be represented as a dependence of apparent interfacial tension on the magnetic field. This idea is investigated computationally by varying the interfacial tension as a function of the applied magnetic field and by comparing the drop shapes with experimental data until a perfect match is found. This estimation method provides a consistent correlation for the variation in interfacial tension at high magnetic fields. A conclusion section provides a discussion of physical effects which may influence the microstructure and contribute to the reported observations.
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    Field-induced motion of ferrofluid droplets through immiscible viscous media
    Afkhami, Shahriar; Renardy, Yuriko Y.; Renardy, Michael J.; Riffle, Judy S.; St Pierre, T. (Cambridge University Press, 2008-09)
    The motion of a hydrophobic ferrofluid droplet placed in a viscous medium and driven by an externally applied magnetic field is investigated numerically in an axisymmetric geometry. Initially, the drop is spherical and placed at a distance away from the magnet. The governing equations are the Maxwell equations for a non-conducting flow, momentum equation and incompressibility. A numerical algorithm is derived to model the interface between a magnetized fluid and a non-magnetic fluid via a volume-of-fluid framework. A continuum-surface-force formulation is used to model the interfacial tension force as a body force, and the placement of the liquids is tracked by a volume fraction function. Three cases are Studied. First, where inertia is dominant, the magnetic Laplace number Is varied while the Laplace number is fixed. Secondly, where inertial effects are negligible, the Laplace number is varied while the magnetic Laplace number is fixed. In the third case, the magnetic Bond number and inertial effects are both small, and the magnetic force is of the order of the viscous drag force. The time taken by the droplet to travel through the medium and the deformations in the drop are investigated and compared with a previous experimental study and accompanying simpler model. The transit times are found to compare more favourably than with the simpler model.