Characteristics of thermo-magnetic driven motor using magnetic fluid

A basic study of a newly designed direct-heat-to-power energy conversion device, using temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid, was conducted. Results of numerical analysis demonstrated that the magnetic fluid does circulate around the rotaion disc as thought by the theory, indicating that vortices generated in the flow field reduce the overall flow circulation when magnetic field was highly strengthened. Although the device did not give the shaft output yet in experiment, the measured temperature field showed qualitatively good agreement with the numerical results particularly at the strong magnetic field. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.