Volume 6, Issue 12, December – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-216

Analysis of a Magnetorheological Fluid Damper

Angshuman Bhattacharya, Aditya Sourav, Anant Alok, Aman Kumar
Student, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, BMS college of engineering, Karnataka, India

Abstract:- A Magnetorheological fluid can be moment with the external field which causes particles to form
implemented on a suspension system for damping of shock linear chains parallel to the field, as shown in figure 1.1. This
as a replacement for conventional oil dampers which has a phenomenon can solidify the suspension ferrous particles and
constant viscosity. prevent the fluid movement as per the given requirement.

When a magnetic field is applied, the viscosity of MR A. History

fluid varies. Due to variable viscosity the damping action The Telesco Shock Absorber, displayed at the 1912
of the damper can be modified as per requirement which Olympia Motor Show and marketed by PolyrhoeCarburattors
not only increases the comfort level but also optimizes Ltd, was one of the first hydraulic dampers to enter
vehicles performance suspension life. production. This damper used a spring inside the telescopic
unit, similar to pure spring type shock absorbers,' but also
Keywords:- Fluid damper; Suspension system; CAD used oil and an internal valve to dampen the oil in the rebound
modelling; Magnetorheological damper; reverse engineering; direction. The Telesco unit was installed behind the leaf
spring, in place of the rear spring to chassis mount, as part of
I. INTRODUCTION the spring system. This layout was chosen because it was
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic simple to implement in existing automobiles, but it resulted in
component modelled to absorb or dampen shock impulses the hydraulic damping only being applied to the action of the
which are caused due to external disturbances. The kinetic auxiliary spring in the unit, rather than the action of the main
energy of the shock is transformed into a different form of leaf spring.
energy which is then dissipated to the surrounding In case of Magneto-rheological fluid dampers, the
environment. Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers are technology was primarily developed by General Motors
used in combination with cushions and springs. Delphi Automotive Division based in the USA and then
In a vehicle, a damper deals with the effect of going developed further by Beijing West Industries in China after
through rough and wavy roads which results in enhanced ride Beijing West Industries bought the technology from General
quality, vehicle handling, and comfort. When modelling or Motors. Post-acquisition of the technology, Beijing West
selecting a shock absorber one of the most important factors is Industries has introduced modifications including a
how the energy can be dissipated to the external environment redesigned ECU and the introduction of a dual coil system.
or where that dissipated energy will go. The sole purpose of a B. Motivation and problem definition
shock absorber is to dampen spring oscillations. Shock A suspension system is the collection of parts that work
absorbers use valving of oil or gasses to absorb excess energy together to isolate the vehicle from road shocks. It includes
from the spring. Most of the conventional oils have a fixed the springing device as well as various mounting options. The
viscosity which gives constant damping in all situations and spring oscillates due to the energy of the road shock. The
all directions. damper, also known as a shock absorber, reduces these
A magnetorheological fluid can be implemented in these oscillations. The flexibility and stiffness of a springing device
suspension systems for damping of shock in the damping must be balanced. Springs are used to connect the road wheels
system as an alternative for conventional oil dampers which to the body. When the wheel hits a rut in the road, it rises and
has a constant viscosity. When a magnetic field is applied, the deflects the spring, storing energy. Because of the elasticity of
particles align themselves along the lines of magnetic flux, the spring material, it rebounds when released, expending the
which modifies the viscosity of MR fluid. Due to variable stored energy. In this manner, springs begin to vibrate, with
viscosity the damping action of the damper can be adjusted as the amplitude gradually decreasing due to internal friction of
per the given requirement which not only amplifies the the spring material and friction of the suspension joints, until
comfort level but also optimizes vehicles performance and the vibrations cease.
increases the automobile suspension life. Fluid flows through an orifice in a Magneto-rheological
Magneto-rheological fluids are free flowing liquids fluid type suspension system, which can be restricted by
having consistency similar to that of motor oil. Magneto- applying a magnetic field across it. Magnetic domains
rheological fluid acts as a regular, steady flow fluid in the suspended in fluid make up the fluid. The damper is made of
absence of magnetic field, but when subjected to a magnetic ferromagnetic material, which allows the magnetic field to
field which can be induced through a current carrying coil or influence the magnetic domains of M-R fluid. When a current
permanent magnets, the fluid amplifies its apparent viscosity is applied to an electromagnetic coil located outside the shock
to the point of being a viscoelastic solid. This so happens absorber's piston, the resulting magnetic field changes the
because the iron particles in MR fluid acquires a dipole viscosity of the fluid, resulting in a very responsive and
controllable damping action that does not require any valves.

IJISRT21DEC099 www.ijisrt.com 125

Volume 6, Issue 12, December – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-216
The intensity of the magnetic field has an effect on the South Pole. The total magnetic field is calculated by
viscosity. This property is frequently used in commercial superimposing the magnetic fields generated by all the turns..
vehicles to provide various modes of performance depending For a solenoid,the magnetic flux density of center of core and
on the condition. magnetic field intensity can be calculated from

II. MAGNETORHEOLOGICAL FLUID

Magneto-Rheological (MR) dampers are a new type of

damper that employs controllable Magneto-Rheological Fluid
(MRF). MRF is a smart material made up of micron-sized
ferromagnetic particles suspended in a water-based solvent.
Magnetic flux can be used to control the rheology of MRF.
Copper wires wound around a ferromagnetic core are used to The formula for magnetic flux density, magnetic field
generate the required magnetic flux density. Weight, power intensity and magnetization is given below:
consumption, and response time are the most important
factors to consider when designing these dampers..The
particles in the base carrier fluid, showsudden changes in
rheological properties in the presence of a magnetic field and
the MR fluid changes state from a free flowing fluid to a solid
state. This process is reversible by eliminating the magnetic
field.
Where M is Magnetization,𝜒𝜒 is magnetic
A. Composition of M-R fluid susceptibility,𝜒𝜒 is relative permeability of the soft magnetic
a) Base liquid: solvent, often a carrier oil, is a non- material, and is used to extent of material magnetization, and
magnetizable liquid that combines lubricating and 𝜒0 is the permeability of vacuum.
damping properties. To enhance the MR effect, the
carrier oil should be of low viscosity and temperature The magnetic characteristics of an MR fluid may be
insensitive, so that the MR effect is the major factor in deduced from its B H and M-H hysteresis curves.
causing shear stress during the off-state. Hydrocarbons,
minerals, silicon, and hydraulic oils; silicone When an external magnetic field is added, the static yield
copolymers, polyester, polyether; halogenated organic stress of MR fluid increases significantly. Once aligned, the
liquids, diesters, polyoxyalkylenes, fluorinated iron particles become magnetised and resist migrating out of
silicones, and glycols are all examples of liquids that their respective magnetic fields. Aligned magnets operate as a
can be used. barrier to an external force; hence, a shear stress or pressure
differential is required to break this structure. Under stress, the
b) Ferro-magnetic particles:The MR effect is caused by fluid opposes flow at zero shear rate. Meanwhile, the force
the alignment of these particles along the line of the generates a plastic deformation since there is no continuous
magnetic field. Iron, iron/cobalt alloys, iron oxides, movement. The yield stress is the greatest tension that may be
iron nitride, iron carbide, and carbonyl iron are the applied under this circumstance without generating continued
most commonly utilized magnetic particles. The movement. As previously stated, the strength of MR fluid,
magnetic materials can take up to 50% of the overall known as static yield stress, grows nonlinearly as the
volume. magnetic field intensity increases.

c) The additives: Additives are shear thinning chemicals C. Rheological properties of MR fluid
having the ability to reduce friction and reduce The quick liquid-to-solid transition, hydrodynamic forces,
corrosion/wear. To prevent clumping, dispersion carrier oil viscosity, electrostatic forces, and particle size and
agents such as ferrous naphthanate or ferrous oleate shape all contribute to the unique rheological behaviour of
areutilized.Surfactants, nanoparticles, nano MR fluids. In the absence of an external field, MR fluids
magnetizable particles, and coated magnetizable behave similarly to typical Newtonian fluids, implying that
particles are just a few of the additives that can be the dynamic viscosity of Bingham plastics is usually constant.
employed in MR fluids. When operating in the off state, MR fluids appear to have
similar apparent viscosities as liquid paint (0.1– 1 Pa. s 1 at
B. MR fluid magnetic behaviour low shear rates).
Electromagnets only magnetise in the presence of external
magnetic fields; a solenoid wound around an iron core is an III. METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
example of one of these magnets. Magnetic fields are created
by the movement of electrical charges, such as electric A. Reverse engineering
current. Magnetic fields are typically generated using The modelling of conventional damper was done by the
solenoids or wounded coils. A solenoid with a soft magnetic study and measurement analysis of a car damper. A
core behaves similarly to a simple magnet, with one end of the conventional oil damper of Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire Car
coil representing the North Pole and the other representing the was used. Oil used in this suspension system varied from SAE

IJISRT21DEC099 www.ijisrt.com 126

Volume 6, Issue 12, December – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-216
10W to SAE 30W. The different parts of the damper were
dismantled to the smallest single component whose imagesare
shown in the following pictures:

Fig. 5 : Drawing of the Piston Rod

Fig.1: Encasing for the damper mechanism

Fig. 6 : Drawing of the Moving Piston

Parts of the hydraulic damper were created in

SOLIDWORKS using the dimension found from the reverse
Fig. 2: Damper mechanism engineering process. The following figure shows the
assembly of the hydraulic damper

Fig. 3 : Washers and the piston head Fig. 7: Drawing of the Assembly

Each part was measured carefully and the following C. Modelling of Quarter Car Suspension
dimensions were found.Using these dimensions, a CAD The Quarter Car Suspension model was created using a
model of the conventional damper was made in order to dimension of a real car and necessary changes were made for
perform the flow simulation. The dimensions of the main the easy and smooth design. The dimensions were measured
components are as follows: for the modelling and drawing. The following table shows the
dimension of links and tyres.
Part Outer Inner Height
Diameter Diameter (mm) Part Dimension Specification
(mm) (mm)
Tyre 300 Diameter
Cylinder 330 300 250
Upper Link 165 Length
Piston 30 - 15
Lower Link 265 Length
Piston Rod 198 - 294
Distance b/w links 174 -
Table-1: Components Dimension
Table-2: Quarter Car Suspension Specification
Material of Damper: Steel
The following figure shows the drawing of the quarter
B. CAD Modelling car suspension model where each part of the model is
Drawing of the main components are given below with assembled together.
their respective dimensioning.

Fig. 4 : Drawing of the Cylinder Fig. 8 : Drawing of the Quarter Car Suspension

IJISRT21DEC099 www.ijisrt.com 127

Volume 6, Issue 12, December – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-216
A 3-D model was created in SOLIDOWORKS using the
dimensions given in the table. The other dimensions were
found by the measurement of the actual car suspension model.
The following figure shows the Quarter Car Suspension
Model.

Chart 1: Graph Displacement-Equivalent Damping coefficient

Fig. 9 : Quarter car suspension Assembly IV. RESULTS

D. Simulation of Quarter Car Suspension Model A. MATLAB Results

The same model was imported to the MSC ADAMS It shows the change of equivalent damping coefficient (in
Software and necessary constrains were made to perform the KNs/m) against the displacement (in mm) with varying
simulation. The following figure shows the picture of the current at 0, 0.5 and 3.
model imported.

Chart 2 : Equivalent Damping Coefficient vs Displacement

Fig. 10 : Model in Adam software with constraints Average Percentage Change in EDC:
(((19.81-18.76)/18.76)/2.5)+(((18.76-
E. MATLAB Analysis 17.92)/17.92)/0.5)/2)*100= (((0.04875/2.5)
Based on the suitable equation for solution of our problem, +(0.055970/0.5))/2)*100= 6.572%((KNs/m)/Ampere
a MATLAB code was written to show and verify the Relation
between EDC, Current, and Displacement. B. Simulation Results
The graph between the force vs time were obtained along
with a superimposed graph of deformation forceand velocity
vs time which is shown in the following figure.

Chart 3: Force vs Time

Fig. 11 : MATLAB code

IJISRT21DEC099 www.ijisrt.com 128

Volume 6, Issue 12, December – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-216
Systems - Recent Advances and Future Challenges Edited
by Giovanni Berselli, Rocco Vertechy and Gabriele
Vassura, Chapter 15.
[8.]Hu, Guoliang & Liu, Hao & Duan, Jinfu&
Yu, Lifan. (2019). Damping performance analysis of
magnetorheological damper with serial-type flow
channels. Advances in Mechanical Engineering. 11.
168781401881684. 10.1177/1687814018816842
[9.]Quoc-Hung Nguyen and Seung-Bok Choi (October 17th
2012). Optimal Design Methodology of
Magnetorheological Fluid Based Mechanisms, Smart
Actuation and Sensing Systems – Recent Advances and
Chart 4 : Deformation Force and Deformation velocity vs Future Challenges, Giovanni Berselli, Rocco Vertechy and
Time Gabriele Vassura, IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/51078.
V. CONCLUSIONS [10.] Liutian Huang, Junhui Lia and Wenhui Zhu.
Mathematical model of a novel small
The MR Fluid Dampers changes viscosity when magnetorheological damper by using outer magnetic
subjected to changing magnetic field, this change in magnetic field. AIP Advances 7, 035114 (2017).
field can be created by changing current passing thru solenoid. [11.] Characterization, Modeling and Simulation of
By MATLAB Analysis of MR Damper Mathematical Model, magnetorheological Damper behavior under Triangular
it was found that: Excitation by The AZo journal of Materials online.
 Increasing current increases the Equivalent Damping November 29 2005.
Coefficient of System.
 When no current is passed MR Fluid Damper behaves as
conventional damper.

REFERENCES

[1.]Mr. Y M Khedkar, Dr. S B Joshi, Dr. P M Pawar, Dr. B P

Ronge, (November 2014), Modeling and Simulation of
MR Damper Using COMSOL, Excerpt from the
Proceedings of the 2014 COMSOL Conference in
Bangalore
[2.]Wasnik A.R, Bhosale V.P, Aswar S.K, Birange V.B,
Bodhale M.M, (May 2015) Concept of Electromagnetic
Shock Absorber using Magnetorheological Fluid,
International Advanced Research Journal in Science,
Engineering and Technology, Vol. 2, Issue 5, May 2015
[3.]S. B. A. Kashem, M. A. Chowdhury, T. A. Choudhury, N.
Shabrin, M. Ektesabi, R. Nagaraja, (June 2015), Study and
Comparison on Linear Electromagnetic Shock Absorbers
among other Available Intelligent Vibration Dampers,
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR),
Volume 4 Issue 6, June 2015
[4.]Deepika Pujari, Rahul N. Yerrawar, (February 2018),
Finite Element Analysis of Magneto-rheological Damper,
International Journal for Research in Applied Science &
Engineering Technology (IJRASET) Volume 6 Issue II,
February 2018
[5.]Soroush Sefidkar-Dezfouli, (March 2014) Design,
Simulation, and Fabrication of a Lightweight Magneto
Rheological Damper, ©Soroush Sefidkar-Dezfouli 2014
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2014
[6.]William Harris, (11 May 2005), How Car Suspensions
Work,
HowStuffWorks.com,<https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car
-suspension.htm>
[7.]D. Q. Truong and K. K. Ahn, (October 17th 2012), MR
Fluid Damper and Its Application to Force Sensor less
Damping Control System, Smart Actuation and Sensing

IJISRT21DEC099 www.ijisrt.com 129