Particle-level Simulation of Magnetorheological Fluids: A Fully-Resolved Solver

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive particle-level simulation framework for magnetorheological fluids, integrating magnetic interactions and fluid dynamics to accurately model their behavior under magnetic fields.

Contribution

It develops a fully-resolved, open-source simulation code combining finite-volume, immersed boundary, and discrete element methods with magnetic modeling for MRFs.

Findings

Validated against benchmark flows

Accurately captures magnetic particle interactions

Demonstrates robustness of the simulation approach

Abstract

Magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) are smart materials consisting of micro-scale magnetizable particles suspended in a carrier fluid. The rheological properties of a MRF can be changed from a fluid-state to a solid-state upon the application of an external magnetic field. This study reports the development of a particle-level simulation code for magnetic solid spheres moving through an incompressible Newtonian carrier fluid. The numerical algorithm is implemented within an open-source finite-volume solver coupled with an immersed boundary method (FVM-IBM) to perform fully-resolved simulations. The particulate phase of the MRF is modeled using the discrete element method (DEM). The resultant force acting on the particles due to the external magnetic field is computed based on the Clausius-Mossotti relationship. The fixed and mutual dipole magnetic models are then used to account for the magnetic (MAG) interactions between particles. Several benchmark flows were simulated using the newly-developed FVM-IBM-DEM-MAG algorithm to assess the accuracy and robustness of the calculations.