Orientational Distributions of a Nondilute Colloidal Dispersion Composed of Ferromagnetic Spherocylinder Particles Subjected to a Simple Shear Flow

Analysis by Means of Mean-Field Approximation for the Magnetic Field Direction Parallel to the Angular Velocity Vector of the Shear Flow

Abstract

We have analyzed the orientational distributions of a nondilute colloidal dispersion composed of ferromagnetic spherocylinder particles subjected to a simple shear flow. We applied the mean-field theory to the system for an external magnetic field parallel to the angular velocity vector of the shear flow in order to understand the effects of the interactions among the particles. We conclude that the interactions suppress the Brownian motion of the particles and, therefore, make the particles incline toward the same direction. Although the interactions of the particles work in the nondilute colloidal dispersion system, the magnetic field and the shear flow dominantly affect the orientational distributions of the system for an external magnetic field parallel to the angular velocity vector of the shear flow. The particles incline toward the magnetic direction as the strength of the magnetic field increases.