Nonequilibrium Brownian dynamics analysis of negative viscosity induced in a magnetic fluid subjected to both ac magnetic and shear flow fields.

We study the rheological and magnetic characteristics of a magnetic fluid. The system, which we investigate, is as follows. Ferromagnetic particles are dispersed in a solvent, which is subjected to both ac magnetic and shear flow fields. The translational and rotational motions of particles are calculated by the Brownian dynamics method based on Langevin equations and the rheological and magnetic characteristics of the magnetic fluid system are estimated. First, we investigate the rheological and magnetic characteristics of the system in a dc magnetic field and then we analyze the effect of an ac magnetic field on those characteristics. We find that the negative viscosity effect is induced at a certain frequency range of the ac magnetic field. We also find that there are two main mechanisms responsible for the occurrence of negative viscosity. (1) Resonance between the rotational motions of the dipoles of particles and the fluctuation of ac magnetic fields occurs when applied magnetic fields are weak compared to the shear rate, in which case particles can still rotate in magnetic fields. Beyond this resonance frequency, negative viscosity appears. (2) The magnetic dipole moments of particles are forced to stay in the direction of the magnetic field when strong magnetic fields are applied in relatively low shear flow fields. However, negative viscosity occurs when the frequency of external magnetic fields exceeds a critical value, in which case the dipoles rotate continuously in a shear flow without stopping. In both cases, the mean angular velocity of the particles becomes higher than that of the solvent.