Modelling the magnetic-mechanical coupled viscoelastic behaviour of transversely isotropic soft magnetorheological elastomers

Abstract

Soft magnetorheological elastomers (s-MRE) is a kind of smart material mainly fabricated by embedding soft magnetic particles into an elastomer matrix. It can be categorized as isotropic and transversely isotropic, depending on the arrangement of internal magnetic particles. In isotropic s-MRE, magnetic particles are randomly distributed, while transversely isotropic s-MRE forms chain structures for the magnetic particles. Compared with isotropic s-MRE, transversely isotropic s-MRE exhibits more significant magnetically-enhanced mechanical properties, making it highly applicable in the vibration control area. While past theoretical work has mainly focused on the magneto-mechanical coupling behaviour of isotropic s-MRE, less attention has been given to modelling the magneto-mechanical coupling behaviour of transversely isotropic s-MRE. Specifically, understanding the impact of different particle chain-magnetic field spatial locations on the magnetization and magnetic-enhanced viscoelastic behaviour of transversely isotropic s-MRE remains an open topic. To address this research gap, we characterize the quasi-static, viscoelastic and magnetization performance of transversely isotropic s-MRE under different particle chain-magnetic field spatial locations. Subsequently, we develop a novel constitutive model for transversely isotropic s-MRE, integrating magneto-hyperelasticity, magneto-viscoelasticity and magnetization. We then implement the magneto-mechanical coupled model for transversely isotropic s-MRE at a finite element level. Following model calibration and validation, we conduct a case study to demonstrate the model’s ability to predict the magneto-mechanical coupling performance of a transversely isotropic s-MRE-based laminated isolator. This model is a valuable tool for predicting the magneto-mechanical performance of transversely isotropic s-MRE-based smart devices, thereby facilitating the design and advancement of transversely isotropic s-MRE in vibration control.