Forces in magnetic fluids subject to stationary magnetic fields

The problem of magnetic forces in magnetizable fluids is discussed and classical formulas for volume force density (Kelvin, Helmholtz) are reviewed. The general problem of hydrostatic equilibrium of a magnetic liquid subject to magnetic field is formulated. On the basis of this formulation, the displacement of a linear magnetic fluid subject to the field produced by sheet-shaped coils is numerically computed by using the finite-elements method and an appropriate fixed-point iterative technique.