Magnetic control of thermal convection in electrically non-conducting or low-conducting paramagnetic fluids

An inhomogeneous magnetic field exerts a magnetization force on all materials, including electrically conducting and non-conducting fluids. A recent experiment demonstrated that this force can enhance or suppress convection in a paramagnetic aqueous solution heated from either below or above. In this paper, to clarify the mechanism of the observed phenomena, we numerically simulated the effect of a vertical magnetic field gradient on thermal convection in paramagnetic fluids. These simulated results agree with experimental observations. Our study shows that the magnetic buoyancy force has potential applications for controlling convection and enhancing the heat transfer efficiency in either electrically non-conducting or low-conducting fluids.