Rayleigh-Benard convection in a micropolar ferromagnetic fluid

The problem of Rayleigh-Benard convection in a micropolar ferromagnetic fluid layer permeated by a uniform, vertical magnetic field is investigated analytically with free-free, isothermal, spin-vanishing, magnetic boundaries. The influence of the various micropolar and magnetization parameters on the onset of stationary convection has been analysed. It is observed that the micropolar ferromagnetic fluid layer heated from below is more stable as compared with the classical Newtonian ferromagnetic fluid. The nature of influence of the magnetization parameters on convection in the micropolar ferromagnetic fluid is similar to that in the case of Newtonian ferromagnetic fluids. The influence of the micropolar parameters on convection in the ferromagnetic case is akin to its role in the non-magnetic fluid case. The critical wave number is found to be insensitive to the changes in the micropolar fluid parameters, but sensitive to the magnetization parameters. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.