Rotation of Liquid Metal Droplets Solely Driven by the Action of Magnetic Fields

Jian Shu; Shi-Yang Tang; Sizepeng Zhao; Zhihua Feng; Haoyao Chen; Xiangpeng Li; Weihua Li; Shiwu Zhang

doi:10.3390/app9071421

Applied Sciences (Apr 2019)

Rotation of Liquid Metal Droplets Solely Driven by the Action of Magnetic Fields

Jian Shu,
Shi-Yang Tang,
Sizepeng Zhao,
Zhihua Feng,
Haoyao Chen,
Xiangpeng Li,
Weihua Li,
Shiwu Zhang

Affiliations

Jian Shu: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Shi-Yang Tang: School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Sizepeng Zhao: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Zhihua Feng: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Haoyao Chen: School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
Xiangpeng Li: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
Weihua Li: School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Shiwu Zhang: CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app9071421
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 9, no. 7
p. 1421

Abstract

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The self-rotation of liquid metal droplets (LMDs) has garnered potential for numerous applications, such as chip cooling, fluid mixture, and robotics. However, the controllable self-rotation of LMDs utilizing magnetic fields is still underexplored. Here, we report a novel method to induce self-rotation of LMDs solely utilizing a rotating magnetic field. This is achieved by rotating a pair of permanent magnets around a LMD located at the magnetic field center. The LMD experiences Lorenz force generated by the relative motion between the droplet and the permanent magnets and can be rotated. Remarkably, unlike the actuation induced by electrochemistry, the rotational motion of the droplet induced by magnetic fields avoids the generation of gas bubbles and behaves smoothly and steadily. We investigate the main parameters that affect the self-rotational behaviors of LMDs and validate the theory of this approach. We further demonstrate the ability of accelerating cooling and a mixer enabled by the self-rotation of a LMD. We believe that the presented technique can be conveniently adapted by other systems after necessary modifications and enables new progress in microfluidics, microelectromechanical (MEMS) applications, and micro robotics.

Published in Applied Sciences

ISSN: 2076-3417 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); Science: Biology (General); Science: Physics; Science: Chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci

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