×

Applications of Magnetic powder

The magnetic powder consists of grainy particles which are very reactive to the magnetic field and have exceptional properties. The magnetic powder contains materials having the exceptional magnetic strength and other properties. Iron, cobalt, Nickel, Rare Earth elements, magnetite, and ferrite are major materials of the magnetic powder Technology.  The samarium and Neodymium are the Rare Earth elements and possess permanent magnetic strength. There are various mechanical and chemical methods for producing the Magnet Powder. The selection of methods for the production of magnetic powder is dependent upon the required properties like shape, size, and magnetic strength. Ball milling and high-energy ball milling are the mechanical methods while hydrothermal synthesis and precipitation are the chemical methods.  Magnetic powder has different applications in numerous sectors. Some of the major applications are described below:

Magnetic Recording Media:

Magnetic Recording media devices like hard disk drives and magnetic disks are manufactured with magnetic powder. The magnetic data is stored magnetically on the disks or tapes by accurately coating the layer of magnetic powder on the surface of the disks or tapes. The binary data is represented by the alignment of magnetic powder when data is recorded.  To store and archive data in the enterprise and consumer sectors, magnetic recording media technology is preferred. Magnet disks, Hard disk drives, floppy disks, magnetic drums, magnetic cards, and magneto-optical discs are magnetic recording devices.

Hard disk drives:

Hard disk drives are the disks installed in computers or server systems can store large amounts of data in terabytes. Nowadays, more advanced drives like solid state drives are used having the capacity to store the data efficiently in a very compact size.

Floppy disk:

          A floppy disk is a type of magnetic recording device having the magnetic disk encapsulated in a shell. The capacity of floppy disks for storing the data is small but it is portable.

Magnetic cards:

Magnetic cards are magnetic recording devices that use magnetic stripes for storing the data. Commonly used magnetic cards are debit cards, credit cards, and cards used as a pass for transportation and other security purposes. The data or information stored on a stripe of these cards is encoded by magnetizing in different arrangements.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape is a very economical and high-storage magnetic device and data is stored on the coating layer of the plastic-made disk. The magnetic powder is used for the coating. For large data archiving and backup, this device is commonly used.

Magnetic Resonance Storage device:

The phenomena of magnetic resonance is used in this modern and latest technology. This device will be able to store the highest maximum data.

MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition)

Magnetic Ink character recognition is an innovative process widely used in the banking sector for verification and processing of financial documents and cheques. This technology is a very famous application of magnetic powder. The financial documents and cheques are printed by mixing the ink into the magnetic powder. The designated magnetic ink character recognition readers are used to read the printed characters on financial documents and cheques. The introduction of this technology has made the process of reading and processing financial documents and cheques more secure and efficient. The magnetic ink or toner of magnetic ink character recognition device contains the iron oxide particles and it is applied on the specific part of the financial document or cheque. The alphanumeric characters or digits printed on the documents are read with the help of magnetic ink character recognition devices. The magnetic ink printed on the documents is detected by the magnetic sensor and converted into a digital data form. This digital data is further processed and clarified by the system. The main benefits of these systems are as follows:

  • Quick process: The processing of documents and cheques is completed in very little time.
  • Secure process: The process of the documents is very secure and has fewer chances of fraud.
  • Accurate process: The financial documents are verified and processed very accurately so there is almost no probability of errors.

Electromagnetic shielding

Electromagnetic shielding is a process through which the undesired electromagnetic fields are shielded or blocked. The ferromagnetic materials are used in the magnetic powder and these materials have high absorbing or attraction capacity so the undesired electromagnetic field lines are prevented. The major objective of the magnetic powder in electromagnetic shielding is protection from the effect of the electromagnetic field lines. The process of electromagnetic shielding is completed in the following phases: the high-energy electromagnetic waves are absorbed by the magnetic materials and changed into the heat energy. In this way, the magnetic strength of the waves is reduced. The energy captured by the particles vanishes in the form of heat energy and intensity is reduced.

Applications of magnetic powder in electromagnetic shielding:

Shielding of cable:

The shielding of cables is done with magnetic powder so that any interruptions between external and internal signal lines can be avoided.

Coating on electromagnetic materials:

The surfaces of the electromagnetic shielding materials are coated with the magnetic powder containing the mixture of boron or polymers binding materials and help to create a shielding environment.

Composite materials of electronic instruments:

The casing and housing of the electronic instruments of the electromagnetic shield system are made up of composite materials containing magnetic materials.

Industrial machines, transformers, and motors have low-frequency magnetic fields and to prevent these fields is very difficult. For effective blocking of the low-frequency magnetic fields, magnetic powder is used. The conductive materials like aluminum or copper are mixed with the magnetic powder and a new strong electromagnetic shield is produced that can block high-frequency magnetic fields.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a magnetic imaging technique used in the medical field for generating images of the internal bodies or organs of the human body for detailed study and analysis. The superconducting magnets used in this technique are manufactured with magnetic powder. The diagnosing features of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are improved by the introduction of magnetic powder technique in the development of advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines.

To generate precise and accurate images of the organs or internal structures of the human body, there should be no external electromagnetic interference. To make the Magnetic Resonance Imaging process effective and shielded from the external electromagnetic field, magnetic powder technology is used. External noise and electromagnetic field from the Magnetic Resonance Imaging section can be blocked by using the magnetic powder technique.

The hardware parts of the MRI can be manufactured from the magnetic powder so that an efficient imaging process can be carried out. The function of the gradient coils in Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines is to perform spatial encoding. The magnetic properties of the gradient coils can be improved by manufacturing the coils with the magnetic powder. The gradient coil shielding can be manufactured from the magnetic powder for precise imaging. There are various benefits of using magnetic powder in the manufacturing of the different components of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines. The use of magnetic powder in the MRI machines is very safe and there is no harm to the patients.  The MRI device can absorb the external magnetic field lines due to the high permeability nature of the magnetic powder.

Magnetic Fluids:

The magnetic fluids (ferro-fluids) are manufactured with the magnetic powder materials. The ferrofluids are the fluids having the solution of nanoparticles in the water or oil (carrier fluid). The ferrofluids have exceptional properties and the viscosity of these fluids changes by varying the magnetic field. There are different applications of magnetic fluids from the medicine industries to the engineering sectors and widely used in electronic display systems, damping systems, and mechanical seals of different machines. The gap between the magnet and voice coil of the loudspeakers is filled with magnetic fluids. The quality of the sound and life of the speakers is improved by incorporating the magnetic powder particles in the fluid because these particles are very useful for releasing heat and making the coil movement in a stable condition. The heat transfer phenomena of the cooling systems is improved by mixing the magnetic powder in the solution of fluid.

Application in the Medical field:

The cancerous cells of the human body are destroyed with the application of alternating magnetic fields in the magnetic fluid. The delivery of the drug particles can be performed effectively with the use of magnetic fluid.

Applications in the environment:

The cleaning of the environment and monitoring of the major controlling factors are done effectively with the Magnetic powder technology. The particles of pollution and contamination in air and water can be collected and removed with the application of Magnetic powder technology.

Applications in industrial sectors:

There are various applications of magnetic powder technology in industrial sectors like particle separation in recycling and mining, the actuators and sensors of vehicles, and components of the electronic instrument.

The importance of use of magnetic powder technology is going to be increased due to the progress and advancement of science, engineering techniques, and innovation strategies.

× How can I help you?