Transport coefficients and orientational distributions of dilute colloidal dispersions composed of hematite particles (for an external magnetic field parallel to the angular velocity vector of simple shear flow)

We have treated a dilute dispersion composed of ferromagnetic rodlike particles with a magnetic moment normal to the particle axis, such as hematites, to investigate the influences of the magnetic field strength, shear rate, and random forces on the orientational distribution of rodlike particles and also on transport coefficients, such as viscosity and diffusion coefficient. In the present analysis, these rodlike particles are assumed to conduct the rotational Brownian motion in a simple shear flow as well as an external magnetic field. The results obtained here are summarized as follows. In the case of a strong magnetic field and a smaller shear rate, the rodlike particle can freely rotate in the xy-plane with the magnetic moment continuing to point the magnetic field direction. On the other hand, for a strong shear flow, the particle has a tendency to incline in the flow direction with the magnetic moment pointing to the magnetic field direction. In the case of the magnetic field applied normal to the direction of the sedimentation, the diffusion coefficient gives rise to smaller values than expected, since the rodlike particle sediments with the particle axis inclining toward directions normal to the movement direction and, of course, toward the direction along that direction.