Rupture of a ferrofluid droplet in external magnetic fields using a single-component lattice Boltzmann model for nonideal fluids

Pattern formation in liquid-vapor systems under periodic potential and shear

In this paper the phase behavior and pattern formation in a sheared nonideal fluid under a periodic potential is studied. An isothermal two-dimensional formulation of a lattice Boltzmann scheme for a liquid-vapor system with the van der Waals equation of state is presented and validated. Shear is applied by moving walls and the periodic potential varies along the flow direction. A region of the parameter space, where in the absence of flow a striped phase with oscillating density is stable, will be considered. At low shear rates the periodic patterns are preserved and slightly distorted by the flow. At high shear rates the striped phase loses its stability and traveling waves on the interface between the liquid and vapor regions are observed. These waves spread over the whole system with wavelength only depending on the length of the system. Velocity field patterns, characterized by a single vortex, will also be shown.

Breakup of a pendant magnetic drop

We report experiments on a millimeter-sized pendant drop of ferrofluid in a horizontal magnetic field. The initial drop size is chosen just below the breakup threshold under gravity. As the magnetic field is increased, the drop tilts in order to align with the direction of the total volume force that is exerted on it: weight plus magnetic force. The breakup is controlled by a generalized Bond number based on this total force and on the radius of the neck of the drop. The evolution of drop shape turns out to be a complex process governed by many parameters such as the angle between the total force and the needle, the drop size relative to the needle radius, and the wettability of the liquid on the needle material. This suggests a certain universality, that a single value of the critical Bond number is found regardless of magnetic fluid properties and whether the force is inclined or not.

Motion and mixing for multiple ferromagnetic microswimmers

This paper concerns the interaction of several ferromagnetic microswimmers, their motion and the resulting fluid mixing. Each swimmer consists of two ferromagnetic beads joined by an elastic link, and is driven by an external, time-dependent magnetic field. The external field provides a torque on a swimmer and, together with the varying attraction between the magnetic beads, generates a time-irreversible motion leading to persistent swimming in a low Reynolds number environment. The aim of the present paper is to consider the interactions between several swimmers. A regime is considered in which identical swimmers move in the same overall direction, and their motion is synchronised because of driving by the external field. It is found that two swimmers tend to encircle one another while three undergo more complicated motion that may involve the braiding of swimmer trajectories. By means of approximations it is established that the interaction between pairs of swimmers gives circulatory motion which falls off with an inverse square law and is linked to their overall speed of motion through the fluid. As groups of two or more swimmers move through the fluid they process fluid, leaving behind a trail of fluid that has undergone mixing: this is investigated by following streak lines numerically.