Evaluation of damping characteristics of a damper with magneto-rheological fluid

Abstract

There are many applications of magneto-rheological (MR) damping devices, utilizing their properties of simple damping control under the application of a magnetic field. Nevertheless, damping properties of the known MR dampers remain non-linear; therefore, implementation of such devices within a wide range of vibrations requires further research. This paper is one of the attempts aimed at investigating damping characteristics of an MR damper through experimental research and further processing of experimental data according to the proposed methodology. The experimentally obtained data processed to a form of hysteresis curve; its numerical integration gave the amount of energy loss during one cycle of vibration. After mathematical transformations, in a result of calculus, the coefficient of friction obtained. Finally, the MR damper characteristics, as dependency of a damping coefficient on frequency of vibration under the application of different voltage to an MR damper solenoid, obtained. The paper concludes by providing the summary of the results and recommendations.