It is now well established that magnetorheological (MR) fluids can provide the basis for constructing controllable vibration damping devices. Moreover, the characteristics of MR fluids are generally compatible with industrial requirements and there is enormous scope for commercial exploitation. In this paper the authors describe the design and construction of a vibration isolator which incorporates an MR damper. The damper is unusual in that it operates in the squeeze-flow mode. A quasi-steady model of the MR damper is summarized and then extended to include the vibration isolator dynamics. Model predictions are compared with experimental results. It is shown that by employing the MR damper a wide range of control can be exercised over the transmissibility of the vibration isolator. Numerical experiments are used to show that a feedback control strategy can provide even more control over transmissibility.

Date Published: 27 April 2000
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 3989, Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Damping and Isolation, (27 April 2000); doi: 10.1117/12.384559

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3989:
Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Damping and Isolation
T. Tupper Hyde, Editor(s)