Eddy currents induced migration of droplets in electrically conducting fluid in microgravity environments

Electrical eddy currents induced migration of droplets, whose conductivity differs from that of surrounding fluid, is analysed. Eddy currents in a dilute suspension under consideration, which fills the dielectric tube, are induced by alternating magnetic field parallel to the tube axis. In the case where the droplet radius is small as compared to the skin depth, the distributions of magnetic fields, currents and electromagnetic forces inside and outside the droplet have been calculated. For small Reynolds numbers, with neglecting inertial and thermocapillary effects and the gravity, the flow of fluids around the droplet and inside it, caused by electromagnetic forces, has been studied. The formula is obtained, which relates the droplet migration velocity to the electro-magnetic field, the droplet size and physical properties of fluids.