Modeling a magneto-rheological soft starter for use with belt conveyors

The theory of magnetic circuit design, the constitutive equations of a magneto-theological fluid, and the load properties of belt conveyors were used to design a magneto-rheological soft starter test-bed. The magnetic field distribution in the working gap was analyzed and the current-speed relationship was investigated. A mathematical model for the time response was deduced. The results show that a linear relationship between current and magnetic field is seen when the magnetic materials are not saturated and the magnetic field is uniform in the working section. The rotation speed of the driven shaft changes linearly with increasing time. The response is rapid and can be as short as milliseconds. This meets the starting requirements of belt conveyors.

Modeling of Magneto-Rheological Damper with Neural Network

With the revival of magnetorheological technology research in the 1980’s, its application in vehicles is in- creasingly focused on vibration suppression. Based on the importance of magnetorheological damper modeling, non- parametric modeling with neural network, which is a promising development in semi-active online control of vehicles with MR suspension, has been carried out in this study. A two layer neural network with 7 neurons in a hidden layer and 3 inputs and 1 output was established to simulate the behavior of MR damper at different excitation currents. In the neural network modeling, the damping force is a function of displacement, velocity and the applied current. A MR damper for vehicles is fabricated and tested by MTS; the data acquired are utilized for neural network training and vali- dation. The application and validation show that the predicted forces of the neural network match well with the forces tested with a small variance, which demonstrates the effectiveness and precision of neural network modeling.

Advances in structural vibration control application of magneto-rheological visco-elastomer

Magneto-rheological visco-elastomer （MRVE） as a new smart material developed in recent years has several significant advantages over magneto-rheological liquid. The adjustability of structural dynamics to random environmental excitations is required in vibration control. MRVE can supply considerably adjustable damping and stiffness for structures, and the adjustment of dynamic properties is achieved only by applied magnetic fields with changeless structure design. Increasing researches on MRVE dy- namic properties, modeling, and vibration control application are presented. Recent advances in MRVE dynamic properties and structural vibration control application including composite structural vibration mitigation under uniform magnetic fields, vibration response characteristics improvement through harmonic parameter distribution, and optimal bounded parametric control design based on the dynamical programming principle are reviewed. Relevant main methods and results introduced are beneficial to understanding and researches on MRVE application and development.