Experimental investigation on thermomagnetic convection of magnetic fluid in the presence of a non-uniform magnetic field

An experimental system was built to study thermomagnetic convection of magnetic fluid in a column enclosure with the presence of a non-uniform magnetic field. The experimental results indicate that the thermomagnetic convection of the magnetic fluid is dominated by the intensity values of the external magnetic field, the temperature gradient, and the synergetic relation between the orientations of these fields. Thermomagnetic convection may arise, and the Nusselt number increases in the case that both the orientations of the temperature gradient and the external magnetic field are parallel (the same direction of the gravity). The Nusselt number increases with increases in the strength of the applied magnetic field and in the temperature gradient.