Properties of magneto-rheological fluids based on amorphous micro-particles

To improve the magneto-rheological (MR) properties of magneto-rheological fluids, self-made amorphous alloy particles, the composition of which was Fe76Cr2Mo2Sn2P10B2C2Si4, were used as the disperse phase to replace traditional carbonyl iron (CI) particles to prepare amorphous based magneto-rheological fluid (AMRF). Soft magnetic properties and densities of the amorphous particles and the CI particles were tested and compared. The results indicate the amorphous particles present a lower density but larger magnetization intensity and larger permeability at lower field levels. Properties of the AMRF with 20% particles in volume fraction were tested and compared with the CI based MR fluid (CMRF). The AMRF presents a saturation yield stress of 41 kPa at ~227 kA/m and a sedimentation ratio of 80%. The results indicate the magneto-rheological fluid based on amorphous micro-particles has better MR properties and sedimentation stability than that based on CI particles at lower field levels (0-200 kA/m).

Novel magneto-rheological fluid damper for passive force/torque feedback

The damper is capable of providing a continuously variable dampering force/torque in response to a magnetic field. It consists of an upside cap and an underside cap with a rotor located between them, the magneto-rheological （MR） fluid is filled into the gaps between the rotor and the caps. When the viscosity of the MR fluid increases under the influence of the magnetic field, the movement of the rotor will be resisted. The output torque is made up of the torque caused by the magnetic field, the torque caused by the plastic viscosity of the MR fluid, and the torque caused by the coulomb friction. The viscous torque can be calculated by a simple method and the frictional torque can be obtained by experiments. The torque dependent on the magnetic field is obtained by electromagnetic finite dement analysis. Experiments are done on the damper prototype and the validity of the design is verified.

Reciprocating friction characteristics of magneto-rheological fluid for aluminum under magnetic field

Reciprocating friction characteristics of magneto-rheological （MR） fluid for aluminum under a magnetic field at different loads and oscillation frequencies were studied when MR fluids were worked in reciprocating motions such as in dampers for automobiles, and surface polishing and other finishing. Thus, experiments were carried out to evaluate the reciprocating friction characteristic of MR fluid for aluminum. The obtained data from the tests are sorted in groups depending on various loads and oscillation frequencies, to analyze the relationship between test condition and travel cycle. Surfaces of specimens were compared by measuring the surface roughness and observing the surface images. The performance of reciprocating friction characteristics of MR fluid for aluminum is evaluated through analyzing the experiment results.

Modeling and Control of the Pulley Buffer System of Arresting Cable for Shipboard Aircraft Based on Magneto-Rheological Fluid

Taking the MK7-3 of USA hydraulic buffer arresting device as the research subject,the dynamical model for the shipboard aircraft arresting system is established,and the magneto-rheological(MR) damper is applied to pulley shock absorbers for shipboard aircraft block system.Due to the effect of the MR damper has not been known completely and so far MR damper model has not been defined,we use a set of characteristic test of the MR damper,through the process of parameters identification,to establish the dynamical model for the MR damper based on the Bingham plastic model.Then,the fuzzy control rules are designed,the buffer control for the pulley buffer of shipboard aircrafts is completed in touchdown moment based on MR technology. Compared with blocking device of hydraulic pulley buffer in the same condition,the simulations results show that the proposed MR pulley buffer can effectively recognize the impact energy for shipboard block system and reduce the pull peak of arresting cable.It improves significantly safety during landing of the air vehicles and lowers the risk of accidents.

Study of Magneto-Rheological Fluid Safe and Arming Device

This paper puts forward the magneto-rheological fluid used in the fuze safe and arming system,realizing the time delay,ensuring the muzzle safety distance.The delay arming time model of a centrifugal MRF delay arming mechanism of fuze was established based on hydrodynamics formulae,reasonable hypothesis,speciality of MRF and fuze environmental parameters.The delay arming time formula was deduced.The model illustrates the relationship between delay arming time and projectile rotating speed,and that between diameter of discharge hole and viscosity of magneto-rheological fluid.According to the analysis,a new fuze delay arming device using MRF was proposed,which can be used in medium and large caliber fuze.

Micro-precision surface finishing using magneto-rheological fluid

In order to improve the surface quality of machining workpiece, this paper studied a micro-precision surface finishing method by applying magneto-rheological fluid to the machined surface. A pin-on-disc testing apparatus was used to carry out surface finishing experiment of steel under different magnetic fields. Magneto-rheological fluid is colloidal suspension and stiffens in- to semi-solid when subjected to a magnetic field. Thus, the surface roughness of the finished surface could be controlled by magneto-rheological fluid under the different magnetic fields. Several sets of tests were performed with various normal loads, finishing speeds and magnetic fields. Removal rate was calculated by the removal loss monitored by testing apparatus, while microstmctures of the finished surface of pin and disk were observed by scanning electron microscope. The micro-precision roughness of finished surface was analyzed by surface profilorneter. The obtained test results showed different surface charac- teristics of the test material under different magnetic fields and proved the feasibility of this micro-precision surface finishing method to reduce the surface roughness of machining workpiece efficiently. At the same time, the effects of the various ap- plied normal loads and rotating speeds on the finishing surface by rnagneto-rheological fluid were investigated.

Impact of Pollutant Concentration and Particle Deposition on the Radiative Flow of Casson-Micropolar Fluid between Parallel Plates

Assessing the behaviour and concentration of waste pollutants deposited between two parallel plates is essential for effective environmental management.Determining the effectiveness of treatment methods in reducing pollution scales is made easier by analysing waste discharge concentrations.The waste discharge concentration analysis is useful for assessing how effectively wastewater treatment techniques reduce pollution levels.This study aims to explore the Casson micropolar fluid flow through two parallel plates with the influence of pollutant concentration and thermophoretic particle deposition.To explore the mass and heat transport features,thermophoretic particle deposition and thermal radiation are considered.The governing equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations with the help of suitable similarity transformations.The Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg’s fourthfifth order technique and shooting procedure are used to solve the reduced set of equations and boundary conditions.The integration of a neural network model based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm serves to improve the accuracy of predictions and optimize the analysis of parameters.Graphical outcomes are displayed to analyze the characteristics of the relevant dimensionless parameters in the current problem.Results reveal that concentration upsurges as the micropolar parameter increases.The concentration reduces with an upsurge in the thermophoretic parameter.An upsurge in the external pollutant source variation and the local pollutant external source parameters enhances mass transport.The surface drag force declines for improved values of porosity and micropolar parameters.

Acoustic Modeling of a 3-Layered Panel Incorporating Electro-Rheological/ Magneto-Rheological (EMR) Fluids

Applications of Electro-Rheological (ER) or Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluids as typical smart materials have been widely investigated over the past decades (since their introduction in 40’s). The special applications of these materials as a means of noise suppression are not yet investigated. Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) sheets can be realized by incorporating EMR (ER/MR) materials. In this way, a multilayered damping sheet is obtained with adaptive (tunable) stiffness and damping characteristics. These properties are easily changed in proportion to the electric (magnetic) field applied upon the EMR layer. This notion has been introduced for semi-active vibration control problems. Herein, such panels incorporating EMR material are proposed for adaptive acoustic treatments. Modeling (simulation) of a 3-layered panel with the middle layer being EMR with adjustable properties is carried out in this paper. The tunability of transmission/absorption characteristics of these composite sheets enables us making smart panels for adaptive noise and acoustic treatments. An adaptive performance can be achieved via changing the properties of such panels, on line, according to some sensor outputs. The main objective is to develop proper models to predict the Transmission Loss (TL) of such panels. Also, the TL of this panel is compared with the middle layer of a Newtonian fluid.

Impact Arresting Process Mechanical Modeling and Sliding Model Buffer Control Based on Magneto-Rheological Fluid

The research on the form and control method of impact load arresting buffer has been an active topic in the field of buffer arresting system(BAS).It becomes significant on reducing the weight of arresting system,improving the hindered efficiency,and guaranteeing the security of BAS.The hydraulic hindered device of impact load is currently used in BAS.There are some problems.For example,the system needs large power sources.However,once the power of active hydraulic control system is turned off,there arise unpredictable security risks.An arresting form of semi-active control based on magneto-rheological damper(MRD) is proposed,and the mechanical model of the BAS is established.Meanwhile,the state equation of impact load BAS is established according to the characteristics of impact load buffer arresting,and its sliding model buffer control is achieved.Due to the chattering characteristic of the output signal of sliding mode controller,the method to prevent chattering is designed based on short-term energy and zero-crossing rate detection.For the model and chattering suppression of sliding model buffer control algorithms,simulation results show that the proposed state equation and the arresting model are reasonable,and the design of semi-active control algorithm is effective.On the condition of the buffer control system requirement and the accuracy,the proposed algorithms effectively control the chattering of sliding mode control algorithms,and improve the security of the BAS.

A disc-type magneto-rheologic fluid damper

A disc-type magneto-rheological fluid damper operating in shear mode is proposed in this paper,which is based on the special characteristics of the magneto-rheological (MR) fluid with rapid, reversible and dramatic change in its rheological properties by the application of an external magnetic field. The magneticfield of the disc-type MR fluid damper is analysed by the finite element method ; the controllability of the disctype MR fluid damper on the dynamic behaviour of a rotor system ; and the effectiveness of the disc-type MR fluid damper in controlling the vibration of a rotor system, are studied in a flexible rotor system with an over-hung disc. It is shown that the magnetic flux density of the disc-type MR fluid damper in the working areas can significantly change with the applied current in the coil ; and that the dynamic behavior of the disc-type MR fluid damper can be varied by the application of an external magnetic field produced by a low voltage electromagnetic coil. The disc-type MR fluid damper can significantly change the dynamic characteristics of a rotor system, provided that the location of the disk-type MR fluid damper is carefully chosen. The disc-type MR fluid damper is a new actuator with good dynamic characteristics for rotating machinery.

Skyhook-based Semi-active Control of Full-vehicle Suspension with Magneto-rheological Dampers

The control study of vehicle semi-active suspension with magneto-rheological (MR) dampers has been attracted much attention internationally. However, a simple, real time and easy implementing semi-active controller has not been proposed for the MR full-vehicle suspension system, and a systematic analysis method has not been established for evaluating the multi-objective suspension performances of MR full-vehicle vertical, pitch and roll motions. For this purpose, according to the 7-degree of freedom (DOF) fullvehicle dynamic system, a generalized 7-DOF MR and passive full-vehicle dynamic model is set up by employing the modified Boucwen hysteretic force-velocity (F-v) model of the MR damper. A semi-active controller is synthesized to realize independent control of the four MR quarter-vehicle sub-suspension systems in the full-vehicle, which is on the basis of the proposed modified skyhook damping scheme of MR quarter-vehicle sub-suspension system. The proposed controller can greatly simplify the controller design complexity of MR full-vehicle suspension and has merits of easy implementation in real application, wherein only absolute velocities of sprung and unsprung masses with reference to the road surface are required to measure in real time when the vehicle is moving. Furthermore, a systematic analysis method is established for evaluating the vertical, pitch and roll motion properties of both MR and passive full-vehicle suspensions in a more realistic road excitation manner, in which the harmonic, rounded pulse and real road measured random signals with delay time are employed as different road excitations inserted on the front and rear two wheels, by considering the distance between front and rear wheels in full-vehicle. The above excitations with different amplitudes are further employed as the road excitations inserted on left and right two wheels for evaluating the roll motion property. The multi-objective suspension performances of ride comfort and handling safety of the proposed MR full-vehicle suspension are thus thoroughly evaluated by comparing with those of the passive full-vehicle suspension. The results show that the proposed controller can ideally improve multiobjective suspension performances of the ride comfort and handling safety. The proposed harmonic, rounded pulse and real road measured random signals with delay time and asymmetric amplitudes are suitable for accurately analyzing the vertical, pitch and roll motion properties of MR full-vehicle suspension system in a more realistic road excitation manner. This research has important theoretical significance for improving application study on the intelligent MR semi-active suspension.

Semi-active Sliding Mode Control of Vehicle Suspension with Magneto-rheological Damper

The vehicle semi-active suspension with magneto-theological damper（MRD） has been a hot topic since this decade, in which the robust control synthesis considering load variation is a challenging task. In this paper, a new semi-active controller based upon the inverse model and sliding mode control （SMC） strategies is proposed for the quarter-vehicle suspension with the magneto-rheological （MR） damper, wherein an ideal skyhook suspension is employed as the control reference model and the vehicle sprung mass is considered as an uncertain parameter. According to the asymptotical stability of SMC, the dynamic errors between the plant and reference systems are used to derive the control damping force acquired by the MR quarter-vehicle suspension system. The proposed modified Bouc-wen hysteretic force-velocity （F-v） model and its inverse model of MR damper, as well as the proposed continuous modulation （CM） filtering algorithm without phase shift are employed to convert the control damping force into the direct drive current of the MR damper. Moreover, the proposed semi-active sliding mode controller （SSMC）-based MR quarter-vehicle suspension is systematically evaluated through comparing the time and frequency domain responses of the sprung and unsprung mass displacement accelerations, suspension travel and the tire dynamic force with those of the passive quarter-vehicle suspension, under three kinds of varied amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and real-road measured random excitations. The evaluation results illustrate that the proposed SSMC can greatly suppress the vehicle suspension vibration due to uncertainty of the load, and thus improve the ride comfort and handling safety. The study establishes a solid theoretical foundation as the universal control scheme for the adaptive semi-active control of the MR full-vehicle suspension decoupled into four MR quarter-vehicle sub-suspension systems.

Fuzzy Hybrid Control of Vibration Attitude of Full Car via Magneto-rheological Suspensions

A magneto-rheological（MR） semi-active suspension system with the controllable damping forces has received more attention in reducing the vibration of a vehicle. However, many control strategies only discussed one or two vibration states of the vehicle based on a quarter-car model or a half vehicle model via MR suspensions. They cannot provide a satisfying whole-vehicle performance on a road test. Hence, a full car vibration model via an MR suspension system is proposed. To reduce the heave, pitch and roll motion of the vehicle body and the vertical vibration of four wheels, a fuzzy hybrid controller for vibration attitude of full car via MR suspensions is proposed. First, a skyhook-fuzzy control scheme is designed to reduce the heave, roll and pitch motion of the vehicle body. Second, a revised ground hook control strategy is adopted to decrease the vertical vibration of the wheels. Finally, a hybrid control scheme based on a fuzzy reasoning method is proposed to tune the hybrid damping parameter, which is suitable for coordination the attitude of the vehicle body and the wheels. A test and control system for the vibration attitude of full car is set up. It is implemented on a car equipped with four MR suspensions. The results on random highway and rough road indicate that the fuzzy hybrid controller can decrease the vibration accelerations of the vehicle body and the wheels to 65%-80% and 80%-90%, respectively. It reduces the automotive vibrations of heave, roll and pitch more effectively than a passive suspension and an MR suspension with a traditional hybrid control scheme so that it achieves better ride comfort and road holding concurrently. This paper proposes a new fuzzy hybrid control（FHC） method for reducing vibration attitude of full car via MR suspensions and develops a road test to evaluate the FHC.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS:PART Ⅰ——CONTROLLER SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION

A modified skyhook-based semi-active controller is proposed for implementing an asymmetric control suspension design with symmetric magneto-rheological （MR） dampers. The controller is formulated in current form, which is modulated by integrating a continuous modulation and an asymmetric damping force generation algorithms, so as to effectively minimize switching and hysteretic effects from the MR-damper. The proposed controller is implemented with a quarter-vehicle MR-suspension model, and its relative response characteristics are thus evaluated in terms of defined performance measures under varying amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and random excitations. The sensitivity of the semi-active suspension performance to variations in controller parameters is thoroughly evaluated. The results illustrate that the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active MR-suspension controller has superior robustness on the system parameter variations, and can achieve desirable multi-objective suspension performance.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS PARTⅡ——EVALUATION OF SUSPENSION PERFORMANCE

The design and analysis of an intelligent vehicle suspension with MR dampers should address hybrid semi-active control goals, such as rejection of current-switching discontinuity and MR-damper hysteresis, asymmetric damping from the symmetric MR-damper design, robustness on the vehicle operation parameter uncertainties and consideration of essential multiple suspension goals. Following the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active controller （Part I ） for achieving the above goals, herein, a set of suspension performance measures and three kinds of varying amplitude harmonic, rounded pulse and really measured random excitations are systematically defined, and the sensitivity of quarter-vehicle MR-suspension performance to variations in operating conditions is thoroughly analyzed. The results illustrate that the proposed skyhook-based semi-active MR-suspension in the asymmetric mode yields relatively superior dynamic responses to meet the multiple suspension performances of ride, rattle space, road-holding and dynamic tire force transmitted to the pavement, and has desirable robustness on variations in operating conditions of vehicle load and speed and the road roughness.

The Knee Joint Design and Control of Above-knee Intelligent Bionic Leg Based on Magneto-rheological Damper

The above-knee intelligent bionic leg is very helpful to amputees in the area of rehabilitation medicine. This paper first introduces the functional demand of the above-knee prosthesis design. Then, the advantages of the four-bar link mechanism and the magneto-rheological （MR） damper are analyzed in detail. The fixed position of the MR damper is optimized and a virtual prototype of knee joint is given. In the end, the system model of kinematics, dynamics, and controller are given and a control experiment is performed. The control experiment indicates that the intelligent bionic leg with multi-axis knee is able to realize gait tracking of the amputee＇s healthy leg based on semi-active control of the MR damper.

A new variable stiffness absorber based on magneto-rheological elastomer

A new adaptive variable stiffness absorber was proposed based on a smart material, magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), and its vibration control performance was investigated. Before developing the proposed absorber, the MREs were firstly fabricated by curing a mixture of 704 silicon rubber, carbonyl iron particles and a small amount of silicone oil under an external magnetic field. Then the mechanical properties of the fabricated MREs were measured. On the basis of the measured mechanical characteristics, the MRE absorber was developed and its working characteristics were also tested under various input currents and excited frequencies. Finally, the control responses of a two-degree-of-freedom dynamic system with a MRE absorber were presented under a chirp input and used to evaluate the effectiveness of the MRE absorber.

Magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE) based composite structures for micro-vibration control

Magneto-rheological elastomers （MILEs） are used to construct composite structures for micro-vibration control of equipment under stochastic support-motion excitations. The dynamic behavior of MREs as a smart viscoelastic material is characterized by a complex modulus dependent on vibration frequency and controllable by external magnetic fields. Frequency-domain solution methods for stochastic micro-vibration response analysis of the MRE-based structural systems are developed to derive the system frequency-response function matrices and the expressions of the velocity response spectrum. With these equations, the root-mean-square （RMS） velocity responses in terms of the one-third octave frequency band spectrum can be calculated. Further, the optimization problem of the complex moduli of the MRE cores is defined by minimizing the velocity response spectra and the RMS velocity responses through altering the applied magnetic fields. Simulation results illustrate the influences of MRE parameters on the RMS velocity responses and the high response reduction capacities of the MRE-based structures. In addition, the developed frequency-domain analysis methods are applicable to sandwich beam structures with arbitrary cores characterized by complex shear moduli under stochastic excitations described by power spectral density functions, and are valid for a wide frequency range.

Hysteresis-induced bifurcation and chaos in a magneto-rheological suspension system under external excitation

The magneto-rheological damper （MRD） is a promising device used in vehicle semi-active suspension systems, for its continuous adjustable damping output. However, the innate nonlinear hysteresis characteristic of MRD may cause the nonlinear behaviors. In this work, a two-degree-of-freedom （2-DOF） MR suspension system was established first, by employing the modified Bouc-Wen force-velocity （F-v） hysteretic model. The nonlinear dynamic response of the system was investigated under the external excitation of single-frequency harmonic and bandwidth-limited stochastic road surface. The largest Lyapunov exponent （LLE） was used to detect the chaotic area of the frequency and amplitude of harmonic excitation, and the bifurcation diagrams, time histories, phase portraits, and power spectrum density （PSD） diagrams were used to reveal the dynamic evolution process in detail. Moreover, the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy （K entropy） were used to identify whether the system response was random or chaotic under stochastic road surface. The results demonstrated that the complex dynamical behaviors occur under different external excitation conditions. The oscillating mechanism of alternating periodic oscillations, quasi-periodic oscillations, and chaotic oscillations was observed in detail. The chaotic regions revealed that chaotic motions may appear in conditions of mid-low frequency and large amplitude, as well as small amplitude and all frequency. The obtained parameter regions where the chaotic motions may appear are useful for design of structural parameters of the vibration isolation, and the optimization of control strategy for MR suspension system.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS:PART III—EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

A hardware-in-the-loop （HIL） test and simulation platform is developed in the laboratory, so as to validate the performance characteristics of the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active controller in Part I, and examine the validity of the proposed MR-damper model in a system surrounding. A real-time monitor is designed to assess and monitor the responses of the quarter-vehicle model in the HIL platform, and to select the excitation, controller synthesis, and the output displays. A drive current circuit hardware employing PID feedback technique is developed to compensate for the time delays from the servo-controller and drive current circuit, in which a small resistance is integrated in the current amplifier circuit to provide the feedback signal. The experiments were performed to measure the responses of the quarter-vehicle MR-suspension models with fixed current and the proposed semi-active MR-damping variations, under harmonic, rounded pulse and random road excitations. The measured data were compared with the corresponding model results to examine the model and controller validity, and revealed generally good agreements in the model and tested results and very little sensitivity of the tested responses to variations in the sprung mass. The HIL test results validate the effectiveness of the proposed skyhook-based semi-active asymmetric controller and its high robustness against the vehicle load variations in view of the intelligent vehicle suspension design.