Drop formation of ferrofluid at co-flowing microcahnnel under uniform magnetic field

A hybrid lattice-Boltzmann, with Shan-Chen model, and finite volume method is applied to simulate the effect of magnetic field on ferrofluid drop formation in Co-flowing configuration of non-magnetic viscous media, in microchannels. The lattice Boltzmann method is used to track the moving interface between the two immiscible phases, and to update the flow field by adding magnetic field force in lattice Boltzmann equations. Maxwell's equations are solved by finite volume method to obtain the magnetic field. The accuracy of the present method is checked with previous numerical and experimental investigations. The comparison indicates that the present results are in good agreement with previous research in the literature. The effects of the flow rate ratio, magnetic Bond number, and susceptibility on the length of drop, the distance between drops and frequency of drop generation in Co-flowing microchannels are investigated in detail. The results reveal that a magnetic field can be used to control drop size, distance between drops, and drop formation frequency effectively. The outcome of this study further point out, a hybrid lattice-Boltzmann, with Shan-Chen model-finite volume method is an effective way to simulate drop formation in microchannels under the action of magnetic field.