Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Numerical study of a ferrofluid flow in a T-junction
Submission Author:
Hugo Morais , DF
Co-Authors:
Hugo Morais, Adriano Rosa
Presenter: Hugo Morais
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-0004
Abstract
Ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions of magnetic particles in a Newtonian fluid. This complex fluid is known for its interaction with an external magnetic fields. Meanwhile, a T-junction is one of the most common pipe fittings found in hydraulic networks. The T-junction studied here is made of three-openings, one inlet and two outlets. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the modifications on the ferrofluid flow in a T-junction caused by an external magnetic field. The authors developed a FORTRAN 95 software to simulate the flow of Newtonian fluids and ferrofluids within a T-junction, using the staggered grid, finite differences, and the second-order projection method. They used different combinations of the magnetic number and the Reynolds number to analyze the flow in a geometry with fixed dimensions. The simulations were conducted until they reached the steady-state, at which point the outflow rates cease to vary. The results obtained for the ferrofluid were compared with the data for Newtonian fluids. Without the application of the magnetic field, it is harder for the fluid to go through the perpendicular outlet as the number of Reynolds increases, due to the fluid inertia. The application of the magnetic field and consequently the increase in the Magnetic number implies a greater tendency of the fluid to follow the field direction, which allows for eventual control of the fluid. However, the results show that it is not possible to remove the vortex present in an usual T-junction flow.
Keywords
Ferrofluids, T-junction, Projection Method, Finite Differences, CFD
