Transport coefficients and orientational distributions of rodlike particles with magnetic moment normal to the particle axis under circumstances of a simple shear flow

We have investigated the influences of the magnetic field strength, shear rate, and random forces on transport coefficients such as viscosity and diffusion coefficient, and also on the orientational distributions of rodlike particles of a dilute colloidal dispersion. This dispersion is composed of ferromagnetic spheroidal particles with a magnetic moment normal to the particle axis. In the present analysis, these spheroidal particles are assumed to conduct the rotational Brownian motion in a simple shear flow as well as an external magnetic field. The basic equation of the orientational distribution function has been derived from the balance of the torques and solved numerically. The results obtained here are summarized as follows. For a very strong magnetic field, the rodlike particle is significantly restricted in the field direction, so that the particle points to a direction normal to the flow direction (and also to the magnetic field direction). However, the present particle does not exhibit a strong directional characteristic, which is one of the typical properties for the previous particle with a magnetic moment parallel to the particle axis. That is, the particle can rotate around the axis of the magnetic moment, although the magnetic moment nearly points to the field direction. The viscosity significantly increases with the field strength, as in the previous particle model. The particle of a larger aspect ratio leads to the larger increase in the viscosity, since such elongated particles induce larger resistance in a flow field. The diffusion coefficient under circumstances of an applied magnetic field is in reasonable agreement between theoretical and experimental results.