Effect of Magnetorheological Grease's Viscosity to the Torque Performance in Magnetorheological Brake.

Recently, magnetorheological grease (MRG) has been utilized in magnetorheological (MR) brakes to generate a braking torque based on the current applied. However, the high initial viscosity of MRG has increased the off-state torque that led to the viscous drag of the brake. Therefore, in this study, the off-state viscosity of MRG can be reduced by the introduction of dilution oil as an additive. Three samples consist of pure MRG (MRG 1) and MRG with different types of dilution oil; hydraulic (MRG 2) and kerosene (MRG 3) were prepared by mixing grease and spherical carbonyl iron particles (CIP) using a mechanical stirrer. The rheological properties in the rotational mode were examined using a rheometer and the torque performances in MR brake were evaluated by changing the current of 0 A, 0.4 A, 0.8 A, and 1.2 A with fixed angular speed. The result shows that MRG 3 has the lowest viscosity which is almost 93% reduction while the viscosity of MRG 2 has lowered to 25%. However, the torque performances generated by MRG 3 were highest, 1.44 Nm, when 1.2 A of current was applied and followed by MRG 2 and MRG 1. This phenomenon indicated that the improvement of torque performances was dependent on the viscosity of MRG. By reducing the viscosity of MRG, the restriction on CIP to form chain formation has also decreased and strengthen the torque of MRG brake. Consequently, the utilization of dilution oil in MRG could be considered in MR brake in near future.

The Effect of Graphite Additives on Magnetization, Resistivity and Electrical Conductivity of Magnetorheological Plastomer.

Common sensors in many applications are in the form of rigid devices that can react according to external stimuli. However, a magnetorheological plastomer (MRP) can offer a new type of sensing capability, as it is flexible in shape, soft, and responsive to an external magnetic field. In this study, graphite (Gr) particles are introduced into an MRP as an additive, to investigate the advantages of its electrical properties in MRPs, such as conductivity, which is absolutely required in a potential sensor. As a first step to achieve this, MRP samples containing carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) and various amounts of of Gr, from 0 to 10 wt.%, are prepared, and their magnetic-field-dependent electrical properties are experimentally evaluated. After the morphological aspect of Gr-MRP is characterized using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), the magnetic properties of MRP and Gr-MRP are evaluated via a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The resistivities of the Gr-MRP samples are then tested under various applied magnetic flux densities, showing that the resistivity of Gr-MRP decreases with increasing of Gr content up to 10 wt.%. In addition, the electrical conductivity is tested using a test rig, showing that the conductivity increases as the amount of Gr additive increases, up to 10 wt.%. The conductivity of 10 wt.% Gr-MRP is found to be highest, at 178.06% higher than the Gr-MRP with 6 wt.%, for a magnetic flux density of 400 mT. It is observed that with the addition of Gr, the conductivity properties are improved with increases in the magnetic flux density, which could contribute to the potential usefulness of these materials as sensing detection devices.

Loss Factor Behavior of Thermally Aged Magnetorheological Elastomers.

Polymer composites have been widely used as damping materials in various applications due to the ability of reducing the vibrations. However, the environmental and surrounding thermal exposure towards polymer composites have affected their mechanical properties and lifecycle. Therefore, this paper presents the effect of material-temperature dependence on the loss factor and phase shift angle characteristics. Two types of unageing and aging silicone-rubber-based magnetorheological elastomer (SR-MRE) with different concentrations of carbonyl iron particles (CIPs), 30 and 60 wt%, are utilized in this study. The morphological, magnetic, and rheological properties related to the loss factor and phase shift angle are characterized using a low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer and rheometer, respectively. The morphological analysis of SR-MRE consisting of 30 wt% CIPs revealed a smoother surface area when compared to 60 wt% CIPs after thermal aging due to the improvement of CIPs dispersion in the presence of heat. Nevertheless, the rheological analysis demonstrated inimitable rheological properties due to different in-rubber structures, shear deformation condition, as well as the influence of magnetic field. No significant changes of loss factor occurred at a low CIPs concentration, whilst the loss factor increased at a higher CIPs concentration. On that basis, it has been determined that the proposed changes of the polymer chain network due to the long-term temperature exposure of different concentrations of CIPs might explain the unique rheological properties of the unaged and aged SR-MRE.

Rheological Performance of Magnetorheological Grease with Embedded Graphite Additives.

The use of highly viscous grease as a medium in magnetorheological grease (MRG) provides the benefit of avoiding sedimentation from occurring. However, it limits the expansion of yield stress in the on-state condition, thus reducing the application performance during operation. Therefore, in this study, the improvement in the rheological properties of MRG was investigated through the introduction of graphite as an additive. MRG with 10 wt % graphite (GMRG) was fabricated, and its properties were compared to a reference MRG sample. The microstructure of GMRG was characterized using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The rheological properties of both samples, including apparent viscosity, yield stress, and viscoelasticity, were examined using a shear rheometer in rotational and oscillatory modes. The results demonstrated a slight increase in the apparent viscosity in GMRG and a significant improvement in yield stress by 38.8% at 3 A with growth about 32.7% higher compared to MRG from 0 to 3 A. An expansion of the linear viscoelastic region (LVE) from 0.01% to 0.1% was observed for the GMRG, credited to the domination of the elastic properties on the sample. These obtained results were confirmed based on ESEM, which described the contribution of graphite to constructing a more stable chain structure in the GMRG. In conclusion, the findings highlight the influence of the addition of graphite on improving the rheological properties of MRG. Hence, the addition of graphite in MRG shows the potential to be applied in many applications in the near future.

Thermal Aging Rheological Behavior of Magnetorheological Elastomers Based on Silicone Rubber.

Engineering rubber composites have been widely used as main components in many fields including vehicle engineering and biomedical applications. However, when a rubber composite surface area is exposed to heat or sunlight and over a long-term accelerated exposure and lifecycle of test, the rubber becomes hard, thus influencing the mechanical and rheological behavior of the materials. Therefore, in this study, the deterioration of rheological characteristics particularly the phase shift angle (δ) of silicone rubber (SR) based magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is investigated under the effect of thermal aging. SR-MRE with 60 wt% of CIPs is fabricated and subjected to a continuous temperature of 100 °C for 72 h. The characterization of SR-MRE before and after thermal aging related to hardness, micrograph, and rheological properties are characterized using low vacuum scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM) and a rheometer, respectively. The results demonstrated that the morphological analysis has a rough surface and more voids occurred after the thermal aging. The hardness and the weight of the SR-MRE before and after thermal aging were slightly different. Nonetheless, the thermo-rheological results showed that the stress-strain behavior have changed the phase-shift angle (δ) of SR-MRE particularly at a high strain. Moreover, the complex mechanism of SR-MRE before and after thermal aging can be observed through the changes of the 'in-rubber structure' under rheological properties. Finally, the relationship between the phase-shift angle (δ) and the in-rubber structure due to thermal aging are discussed thoroughly which led to a better understanding of the thermo-rheological behavior of SR-MRE.

Material Characterization of Magnetorheological Elastomers with Corroded Carbonyl Iron Particles: Morphological Images and Field-dependent Viscoelastic Properties.

High temperatures and humidity could alter the field-dependent rheological properties of MR materials. These environmental phenomena may accelerate the deterioration processes that will affect the long-term rheological reliability of MR materials such as MR elastomer (MRE). This study therefore attempts to investigate the field-dependent rheological characteristics of MRE with corroded carbonyl iron particles (CIPs). The corroded CIPs were treated with hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a way of providing realistic environments in gauging the CIPs reaction towards the ambient conditions. The corroded CIPs along with silicone rubber as a matrix material were used in the fabrication of the MRE samples. To observe the effect of HCl treatment on the CIPs, the morphological observations of MREs with non-corroded and corroded CIPs were investigated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and x-ray diffractometer (XRD). In addition, the magnetic properties were examined through the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), while the field-dependent rheological characteristics such as the storage modulus of MRE with the corroded CIPs were also tested and compared with the non-corroded CIPs. The results showed that the corroded CIPs possessed hydrangea-like structures. In the meantime, it was identified that a sudden reduction of up to 114% of the field-dependent MR effect of MRE with the corroded CIPs was observed as a result of the weakened interfacial bonding between the CIPs and the silicon in the outer layers of the CIPs structure.

The Effect of Particle Shapes on the Field-Dependent Rheological Properties of Magnetorheological Greases.

The transient response of magnetorheological (MR) materials, in general, is very important for design consideration in MR-based devices. Better response to magnetic fields is beneficial for a better response rate to the electrical current applied in the electromagnetic coil. As a result, MR-based devices would have a high response to external stimuli. In this work, the principal characteristics of magnetorheological greases (MRGs) which have two different particle shapes are experimentally investigated. One type of particle distributed in the grease medium is conventional spherical-shaped carbonyl iron (CI) particles, while the other is plate-like CI particles made using a high-energy rotary ball mill from spherical CI particles. A set of bidisperse MRG samples are firstly prepared by adjusting the weight percentage of the plate-like CI particles and mixing with the spherical CI particles. Subsequently, three important properties of MRGs in terms of their practical application are measured and compared between the two different particle shapes. The field-dependent apparent viscoelastic properties of the prepared MRG samples are measured, followed by the field-dependent storage and loss moduli using an oscillatory shear rheometer. In addition, the transient response time, which indicates the speed in the actuating period of MRGs, is measured by changing the strain amplitude. Then, a comparative assessment on the three properties are undertaken between two different particle shapes by presenting the corresponding results in the same plot. It is shown that the bidisperse MRG with plate-like CI particles exhibits an increase in the initial apparent viscosity as well as stiffness property compared to the MRG with spherical particles only.

Material Characterization of a Magnetorheological Fluid Subjected to Long-Term Operation in Damper.

This paper investigates the field-dependent rheological properties of magnetorheological (MR) fluid used to fill in MR dampers after long-term cyclic operation. For testing purposes, a meandering MR valve was customized to create a double-ended MR damper in which MR fluid flowed inside the valve due to the magnetic flux density. The test was conducted for 170,000 cycles using a fatigue dynamic testing machine which has 20 mm of stroke length and 0.4 Hz of frequency. Firstly, the damping force was investigated as the number of operating cycles increased. Secondly, the change in viscosity of the MR fluid was identified as in-use thickening (IUT). Finally, the morphological observation of MR particles was undertaken before and after the long-term operation. From these tests, it was demonstrated that the damping force increased as the number of operating cycles increases, both when the damper is turn on (on-state) and off (off-state). It is also observed that the particle size and shape changed due to the long operation, showing irregular particles.