Velocity measurement on Taylor–Couette flow of a magnetic fluid with small aspect ratio

Abstract In this paper, the application of ultrasonic velocity profile (UVP) method to investigate magnetic-fluids flow is described. The objective of the research is to measure the internal flow of a magnetic fluid on Taylor–Couette flow with small aspect ratio using the UVP method and to analyze the influence of the applied magnetic field. The flow structure of a magnetic fluid in a concentric annular geometry with a small aspect ratio of 3 and a radius ratio of 0.6 for an inner-cylinder rotation was investigated. Axial velocity distributions were measured using the UVP measurement technique. A non-uniform magnetic field was applied to the flow field using a permanent magnet, located outside of the cylinders. The results demonstrated that the UVP method was capable to provide the information on the structure of Taylor–Couette flow with small aspect ratio, in a magnetic fluid.