Abstract
In this contribution, field-induced interactions of magnetizable particles embedded into a soft elastomer matrix are analyzed with regard to the resulting mechanical deformations. By comparing experiments for two-, three- and four-particle systems with the results of finite element simulations, a fully coupled continuum model for magneto-active elastomers is validated with the help of real data for the first time. The model under consideration permits the investigation of magneto-active elastomers with arbitrary particle distances, shapes and volume fractions as well as magnetic and mechanical properties of the individual constituents. It thus represents a basis for future studies on more complex, realistic systems. Our results show a very good agreement between experiments and numerical simulations—the deformation behavior of all systems is captured by the model qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Within a sensitivity analysis, the influence of the initial particle positions on the systems’ response is examined. Furthermore, a comparison of the full three-dimensional model with the often used, simplified two-dimensional approach shows the typical overestimation of resulting interactions in magneto-active elastomers.
Highlights
Our results show a very good agreement between experiments and numerical simulations—the deformation behavior of all systems is captured by the model qualitatively as well as quantitatively
For example, micron-sized, magnetizable particles are embedded into a soft elastomer matrix, magnetic fields can be used as an external stimulus that either changes the stiffness of the compound material or induces a macroscopic deformation
Field-induced interactions in simplified samples are analyzed in order to validate a microscopically motivated, fully coupled continuum model for magneto-active elastomers (MAEs) with experimental data
Summary
The selection of a microscopic continuum approach for the modeling of MAEs allows to account for their microstructure and, with that, identify and gain insight into the underlying mechanisms that influence the materials’ macroscopic behavior: local magnetic and mechanical fields are resolved for systems with arbitrary particle distances, shapes and volume fractions. [33,34,35,36,37,38], are performed with complex MAE samples which involve a lot of variables such as the exact particle shapes and their distribution within the system Within this contribution, a different approach is conducted: simulation results obtained by using the microscopically motivated continuum model that is proposed in Metsch et al [22] are compared to experiments for simplified two-, threeand four-particle systems.
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