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  • Open Access

Magnetic control of a two-layer pipe flow

S. H. Ferguson Briggs1,*, M. G. Blyth2, and A. J. Mestel1

  • *Contact author: sf218@ic.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 103704 – Published 23 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ljc3-r4hx

Abstract

The gap between two solid, coaxial cylinders is filled with two ferrofluids of differing viscosity and magnetic susceptibility. Axial motion is driven by a pressure gradient and/or translation of the inner cylinder. An axial magnetic field is imposed externally, while current flowing in the inner cylinder generates an azimuthal field. It is known that the axisymmetric capillary instability of the cylindrical fluid interface may be controlled either by hydrodynamic shear or magnetic effects, but each of these can give rise to other instabilities, often nonaxisymmetric. This paper investigates the 10-dimensional parameter space to determine when combined action of shear and magnetic effects can provide overall stability, essentially using shear to stabilize the troublesome helical "tearing" mode, while magnetic stresses control the hydrodynamic instability. Stability is easier to obtain when the inner fluid is more magnetic.

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Corrections

10 December, 2025

Correction: The order of the author names was set incorrectly and has been fixed. The byline style has been adjusted accordingly.

Article Text

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 103704– Published 23 October, 2025
  • Received 14 June 2025
  • Accepted 23 September 2025
  • Corrected 10 December 2025
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