Experimental verification of radial magnetic levitation force on the cylindrical magnets in ferrofluid dampers

Analytical and numerical calculation methods of the radial magnetic levitation force on the cylindrical magnets in cylindrical vessels filled with ferrofluid was reviewed. An experimental apparatus to measure this force was designed and tailored, which could measure the forces in a range of 0-2.0 N with an accuracy of 0.001 N. After calibrated, this apparatus was used to study the radial magnetic levitation force experimentally. The results showed that the numerical method overestimates this force, while the analytical ones underestimate it. The maximum deviation between the numerical results and the experimental ones was 18.5%, while that between the experimental results with the analytical ones attained 68.5%. The latter deviation narrowed with the lengthening of the magnets. With the aids of the experimental verification of the radial magnetic levitation force, the effect of eccentric distance of magnets on the viscous energy dissipation in ferrofluid dampers could be assessed. It was shown that ignorance of the eccentricity of magnets during the estimation could overestimate the viscous dissipation in ferrofluid dampers.