A new magnetorheological fluid–elastomer mount: phenomenological modeling andexperimental study

Abstract

A new magnetorheological (MR) mount consisting of an MR fluid encapsulated in apolymeric solid is presented. The mechanical properties of the proposed mount arecontrollable through an externally applied magnetic field. The dynamic behavior of thissystem under various magnetic fields has been investigated by means of oscillatorycompression cycles over a frequency range of 0.1–10 Hz for various deformations (less than1 mm). The energy dissipation in the material is analyzed as related to strain amplitude,strain frequency and magnetic field strength. The field induced damping mechanism isdiscussed in terms of the damping exponent. A phenomenological model is presented toaccount for the dynamic behavior of the MR fluid–elastomer mount’s vibration isolatorsunder oscillatory compressive deformations. This model is a two-element system comprisedof a variable friction damper and a nonlinear spring. The parameters of the modelhave been identified by a series of harmonic loading tests. The theoretical andexperimental results are in excellent agreement. Both experimental and theoreticalresults have demonstrated that the proposed MR fluid–elastomer mounts showpromise in applications where tuning vibration characteristics of a system aredesired, such as altering natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping properties.