Convective Heat Transfer in a Magnetic Fluid in Zero and Applied Fields

摘要

The natural convection is observed in a quasi-one dimensional magnetic fluid consisting of magnetic nanoparticles in a solvent. The temperature gradient across the sample was measured in both zero and applied field. It was found that when the field gradient is anti-parallel to the temperature gradient the temperature difference across the sample increases with increasing field and field gradient, but decreases for field gradient parallel to the temperature gradient. We will discuss the results in terms of the effect of field on the flow and flow structure in the system and its consequences on the heat transfer. The potential application in controlling heat transfer in fluids with applied field will be discussed as well.