Infrared thermography of wall temperature distribution caused by convection of magnetic fluid

Convection of a magnetic fluid within a perspex container was investigated experimentally and complemented by a computational Finite-Element model built according to the same physical specification. The enclosure was heated at two opposite side walls and exposed to a magnetic field provided by a Neodymium-Iron-Boron permanent magnet placed either above or below the container. The spatial temperature distribution on the front side wall of the container was recorded via infrared thermography (IR) and compared to computational results that reproduced the spatial temperature fields. The results show a significant effect on heat transfer by the location of the permanent magnet and gave evidence that the Kelvin body force can be much stronger than buoyancy. As both body forces are temperature sensitive an increase in temperature difference increased both, buoyancy and Kelvin body force, albeit with a different intensity that was explained via Curie's Law and expressed as a temperature dependent magnetisation through the pyromagnetic coefficient, K. The heat transfer was characterised by the Nusselt number and a suitable modified Rayleigh number that took the orientation of both buoyancy and Kelvin body force in account. The degree of heat transfer enhancement reported varied between a 23% reduction to a 20% enhancement.