Deforming static fluid interfaces with magnetic fields: application to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability

Shaping arbitrary fluid interfaces opens interesting perspectives for fluid-based processes and experiments. We demonstrate an experimental method to create non-planar static interfaces of almost arbitrary shape between two fluids, one of which is made highly magnetically permeable by the addition of a magnetic compound. By relying on spatially modulated magnetic fields, a non-homogeneous magnetic force is added to Earth's gravitational force, and a non-planar static interface can be stabilized. Precision experimental measurements are possible because we have developed a general method that allows us to predict numerically the shape of the interface, thereby facilitating the optimal experimental design before actually implementing it. As a first example, we apply this method to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability between two immiscible fluids. The results we obtain demonstrate the feasibility of the experimental method and the accuracy of the numerical predictions.