Design, development and characterization of variable reluctance ferrofluid pump

The objective of this paper is to design and implement a ferrofluid pump actuated by switched magnetic field. The pump works on the principle of variable reluctance behavior of ferrofluid in an external magnetic field. A brief experiment to understand dynamic nature of magnetic flux density in a ferrofluid column is conducted. Variable reluctance phenomenon in the ferrofluid column is analyzed. Design and implementation details of two different structures of ferrofluid pump are discussed, namely single phase pump and two phase pump. Equivalent electrical circuit models of the pumps are developed based on hydraulic-electric analogy. Simulations and experiments are conducted and the results are compared. The designed pump is capable of pumping the ferrofluid at a rate of 84 A mu l/s with zero discharge head and a maximum flow rate of 56 A mu l/s is achieved with a discharge head of 120 mm