Development of a Magnetic Fluid Heating FEM Simulation Model with Coupled Steady State Magnetic and Transient Thermal Calculation

Abstract

Magnetic fluid hyperthermia has gained much attention in recent years due to its potential in cancer treatment. Magnetic fluid is a colloidal liquid made of nanoscale magnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid. The properties of a commercial magnetic fluid consisting of maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) particles suspended in mineral oil were used in the scope of our research. The paper deals with a novel approach to the development of a magnetic fluid FEM model of a laboratory setup, with consideration of the electromagnetic steady state and thermal transient calculation soft coupling. Also, adjustment of the mathematical model was added in such a way that it enables a link between the magnetic and thermal calculations in commercial software. The effective anisotropy’s influence on the calculations is considered. The simulation was done for different magnetic field parameters. The initial temperature was also varied so that a direct comparison could be made between the simulation and the measurements. A good indicator of the accuracy of the simulation are the SAR values. The relative differences in SAR values were in the range from 4.2–24.9%. Such a model can be used for assessing the heating performance of a magnetic fluid with selected parameters. It can also be used to search for the optimal parameters required to design an optimal magnetic fluid.