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In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann model with dynamic grid refinement is proposed for immiscible ternary flows, which is capable of conserving the total mass and preserving the volume of each phase. The application of interpolation schemes in adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) techniques results in the violation of the total mass of the fluids system within the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) framework. In the present model, a source term with two free parameters is introduced into the interface capturing equation, which can be determined by the mass conservation and the volume preservation properties. A piecewise constant function has been deliberately incorporated into the source term in order to avoid the appearance of an unphysical fluid at the interface of other two fluids. Based on a block-structured AMR method, the governing equations for phase-field variables and flow hydrodynamic properties are solved by the finite-difference multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) LBM. Simulations of several typical problems are performed in order to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the proposed model. The numerical results demonstrate that the present model can conserve both mass and volume at the same time as well as reduce numerical dispersion in the bulk region.

In this paper, we present an improved lattice Boltzmann model for fluid–fluid–solid (FFS) flows with a high viscosity ratio. The bounce-back particle model is combined with the Shan–Chen (SC) multicomponent model. We extend the bounce-back scheme based on velocity interpolation and a fresh-node initialization approach with second-order accuracy to moving particles within the framework of the multicomponent model. An improved virtual solid density model for wetting boundary conditions is employed to implement contact angles on curved boundaries. We examine the factors that lead to the violation of mass conservation, and an easy redistributing method is developed to fix the mass leakage issue. The combined multiphase particle model is able to simulate FFS flows with a high viscosity ratio of up to 1000 while preserving the total mass of the two fluids. The performance of the approach is tested by a variety of numerical experiments. The dynamic behaviors of moving contact lines on the curved boundary are validated by a droplet wetting on a solid particle. The model is then applied to simulate dynamic FFS problems, such as particle wetting at the fluid interface and particle motion through a fluid–fluid interface. According to the simulation results, the present model is capable of capturing the total force exerted on a particle by the fluid and the interface. However, the SC-type fluid–solid interaction force does not equal the capillary force in the present model. Finally, the self-assembly process of two floating particles on a liquid–liquid interface is investigated.

In the present study, the magnetic field induced self-assembly processes of magnetic microparticles in an aqueous liquid (the pure magnetic fluid) and nonmagnetic microparticles in ferrofluid (the inverse magnetic fluid) are experimentally investigated The microparticles are formed into chain-like microstructures in both the pure magnetic fluid and the inverse magnetic fluid by applying the external magnetic field The fluorescence parameters of these self-assembled chain-like microstructures are measured and compared to those without the effect of magnetic field It is found that the fluorescence in the pure magnetic fluid is weakened, because the scattering and illuminating areas are reduced in the microstructures On the contrary, the fluorescence in the inverse magnetic fluid is enhanced, because more fluorescent nonmagnetic microparticles are enriched and become detectable under the effect of the magnetic dipole force and the magnetic levitational force, and their unnecessary scattering can be absorbed by the surrounding ferrofluid The average enhancement of the fluorescence area ratio in the inverse magnetic fluid with 3 μm nonmagnetic microparticles reaches 112 92% The present work shows that the inverse magnetic fluid has advantages such as low cost, no scattering effect, stable fluorescence intensity, and relatively low magnetic resistance In the end, a prototype design for the novel detection of coronavirus disease 2019 based on the magnetic field induced self-assembly in the inverse magnetic fluid is proposed, which could support the epidemic prevention and control © 2021 Author(s)

This article presents a detailed experimental analysis along with numerical simulations to provide the information about shape evolutions and mechanism of actuation and amalgamation of the ferrofluid droplets deposited on a hydrophobic surface by moving a permanent magnet. To validate the numerical methods used in this article, a benchmark phenomenon of a sessile droplet spreading under the effect of a non-uniform magnetic field is first simulated, and the results are compared with available experimental observations. To further ensure the accuracy of experimental and numerical techniques and to understand the wetting properties and spreading behavior of non-stationary ferrofluid droplets, a prototype demonstration of the merging droplets on a hydrophobic solid surface in the presence of a permanent magnet is designed. It is observed that for hydrophobic surfaces, the merging droplets entrap an air bubble at the time of first contact. Moreover, the physics behind the transient variations of droplet morphology and the effect of the state-of-the-art parameters on droplet actuation are also discussed. The force evaluation, energy variations, velocity contours, and velocity vectors of the moving droplet are provided to understand the internal behavior of droplet mobility. Experiments are performed several times with different speeds of moving a magnet to find the critical velocity when the droplet fails to follow the magnet motion. While doing so, we encounter an anomalous phenomenon of thread formation and daughter droplet generation at the receding end of the sliding droplet. A phase diagram is also provided in the end, which describes different regions of the sliding phenomenon.

In this work, the dynamics of bubbly flow in a dielectric ferrofluid under a uniform magnetic field has been numerically studied by a self-correcting procedure-based lattice Boltzmann flux solver. The investigation cases focus specifically on two bubbles merging and a single bubble rising in ferrofluid with a large density ratio under an applied uniform magnetic field. By accounting for the effects of the magnetic field intensity, susceptibility, Reynolds number, and Eotvos number, the mechanisms of bubble motion and deformation in the ferrofluid under the external magnetic field are analyzed.

The buoyancy experienced by a permanent magnet suspended in magnetic fluid is studied, and the expression for calculating the magnetic fluid buoyancy is derived. The magnetic fluid buoyancy or magnetic fluid levitation force, which can be obtained by calculating the sum of Archimedes levitation force and magnetic levitation force, depends on the boundary interface condition of magnetic fluid. The type of the boundary interface and the pressure over it determine the boundary interface condition, and the dependence of boundary interface condition of magnetic fluid and magnetic fluid levitation force is studied. If the boundary interface of the magnetic fluid is a liquid-gas interface in contact with air, the magnetic fluid levitation force will be equal to the gravity of the magnetic fluid. A sudden change in magnetic fluid levitation force can be seen when the liquid-gas boundary interface of magnetic fluid is broken by the wall of a container. Or, in other words, the emergence of a solid-liquid boundary interface will influence the magnetic fluid levitation force, and the magnitude of the change is proportional to magnetic field intensity over the solid-liquid boundary interface. Once the liquid-gas boundary interface is close to a horizontal plane, the magnitude of magnetic fluid levitation force will reach a relatively stable value. In the experiments, the volume of magnetic fluid, the location of the magnet, and the magnetic particle concentration in magnetic fluid are used to control and change the boundary interface condition of magnetic fluid.