Principal Investigator Kenneth Smith
Co-investigator T Hatton
We are developing computational and simulation tools to provide an in-depth understanding of the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of suspensions of nonmagnetic particles immersed in magnetic fluids. A fundamental understanding of these properties is important in the development of magnetic separation systems. The trajectories of magnetic particles in a modified rhombic multi-wire array are simulated in a combined magnetic and flow field. The magnetic field in the array is calculated by taking superposition of single wires and the flow field is obtained by interpolation of a numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equation. The methods and conclusions presented here can be extended to novel magnetic separator design and help us understand the entire separation process.