Magnetic alignments of Ba-ferrite particles in suspension

Ba-ferrite particles were dispersed into distilled water to make stable slurry, which was then slip cast in transverse magnetic field. The water drainage from the slurry was performed by vacuum evacuation to solidify the slurry into a cake - like sample. To obtain high degree of alignments, the slurries were slip cast in static - / pulsed - magnetic field and by using two separate steps of magnetic orientation and drainage. The particles turned their faces to the magnetic field and formed long chains stacked immediately while the magnetic field was applied, of which high induction density led to high degree of alignments. It is necessary to correspond with the drainage, gravity and magnetism so as to suppress the tendency of distortion or cracking of the sample as the aligned long chains of the particles tend to break into pieces and cave in randomly, which eventually destroys the particle alignments.