Magnetic field driven micro-convection in the Hele-Shaw cell

AbstractMicro-convection caused by ponderomotive forces of the self-magnetic field of a magnetic fluid in the Hele-Shaw cell under the action of a vertical homogeneous magnetic field is studied both experimentally and numerically. It is shown that a non-potential magnetic force at magnetic Rayleigh numbers greater than the critical value causes fingering at the interface between the miscible magnetic and non-magnetic fluids. The threshold value of the magnetic Rayleigh number depends on the smearing of the interface between fluids. Fingering with its subsequent decay due to diffusion of particles significantly increases the mixing at the interface. Velocity and vorticity fields at fingering…