Abstract
Although electrorheological (ER) fluids are presently being used in some commercial devices, their full potential has yet to be realized. The maximum shear stress (~2 kPa) of commercial ER fluids is not sufficient for most pertinent applications, especially in regard to the automotive industry. However, recent theoretical studies indicate that a shear stress of at least an order of magnitude greater than 2 kPa might be attained by the proper design of the ER suspension. This article reviews the status of the understanding of ER behavior which leads to this possibility.Most of the research to date on ER fluids has been on suspensions of either inorganic or organic particles in dielectric host oils. Hence, the present review will deal mainly with such “heterogeneous” ER fluids. However, in recent years interesting results have been reported for all-liquid ER fluids, especially those containing liquid crystals. These “homogeneous” ER fluids are discussed in the article by Inoue et al. in this issue.
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