New magneto-rheological fluids with high stability: Experimental study and constitutive modelling

Magneto-rheological fluids (MRF) are known as a category of smart materials because they exhibit sudden viscosity changes upon application of magnetic field. In contrast to normal fluids, MRFs can sustain shear up to a yield stress. Stability and resistance against movement are important factors which determine the extent of application of a MRF. In this work, new MRFs are developed using engine oil as carrier liquid, carbonyl iron powder as magnetic particle, stearic acid and CHRYSO® Optima100 as additives. Stability of the samples is measured over time. The samples are exposed to magneto-rheological tests with combined liquid and Peltier temperature control. Samples A, B and C are prepared with low, medium and high particle fractions respectively and tested at different temperatures (−10 °C, 5 °C, 60 °C) but for samples D, E, F and G the rheology tests are conducted in room temperature (25 °C) but at variable magnetic field and shear rate. Inherent assumption of the existing constitutive models is that the flow curve of MRF is shifted by a field-dependent yield stress. In this paper the effect of magnetic field is formulated and based on the physical properties of MRFs, a new method is introduced for identification of material parameters. This method predicts the yield stress by comparing the storage and shear moduli. Obtained results are compared with those obtained from fitting the experimental flow curves and also with those obtained from Bingham model. It is shown that, results of the proposed model are in good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the calculated sedimentation ratio shows that simultaneous use of stearic acid and Optima100 significantly improves stability of MRFs.