New experimental insights into magneto-mechanical rate dependences of magnetorheological elastomers Articles uri icon

publication date

  • November 2021

start page

  • 1

end page

  • 21

volume

  • 224

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1359-8368

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1879-1069

abstract

  • Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs), consisting of an elastomeric matrix filled with magnetic particles,
    are one of the most promising multifunctional composites. The main advantage of these materials is their
    response to external magnetic fields by mechanically deforming and/or changing their magnetorheological
    properties. This multi-physical nature makes them ideal candidates for timely applications in soft robotics and
    bioengineering. Although several works have addressed the magneto-mechanical coupling in these composites
    from both experimental and modelling approaches, there is still a big gap of knowledge preventing the
    full understanding of their underlying physics. In this regard, there is no experimental work addressing
    a comprehensive magneto-mechanical characterisation combining different MRE configurations, mechanical
    deformation modes and magnetic conditions. Furthermore, the interplays of rate dependences into such
    magnetorheological behaviour still remain elusive. In this work, we provide an unprecedented experimental
    characterisation of a soft MRE considering more than 100 different experimental conditions involving more
    than 600 tests. The experiments include monotonous uniaxial compression at different deformation rates
    and magnetic conditions, magneto-mechanical DMA tests, relaxation tests, oscillatory shear tests at different
    deformation rates and magnetic conditions, magneto-mechanical shear frequency sweep tests, and novel
    magneto-mechanical experiments. The results obtained in this work provide full characterisation of soft MREs
    with a special focus on rate dependences, forming the basis to explain novel multifunctional mechanisms
    identified behind their coupled response. In addition, it opens the door to new constitutive and modelling
    approaches.

subjects

  • Mechanical Engineering

keywords

  • magneto-rheological elastomers (mres); magneto-mechanical rheology; nultifunctional composites; viscoelasticity; smart materials; experimental mechanics