Ferrofluid aggregation in chains under the influence of a magnetic field

The paper is devoted to the basic problem of chain aggregate formation in magnetic fluids under the influence of an external magnetic field. Chain distribution in dynamic equilibrium is obtained on the basis of free energy minimization method under the condition when the interparticle dipole-dipole interaction between the nearest neighboring ferroparticles in each chain is taken into account. The modified mean field approach is used for considering the dipole-dipole interaction between all particles in a ferrofluid. The model describes well the molecular dynamics simulations of magnetostatic properties for monodisperse ferrofluids containing chain aggregates. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.