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Magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model of an MR elastomer vibration mitigation device

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2012 Smart Mater. Struct. 21 075034

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IOP PUBLISHING SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034 (12pp) doi:10.1088/0964-1726/21/7/075034

Magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model

of an MR elastomer vibration mitigation
device
Jun-Tao Zhu1 , Zhao-Dong Xu1,3 and Ying-Qing Guo2
1
Key Laboratory of C&PC Structures of the Ministry of Education, Southeast University,
Nanjing 210096, People’s Republic of China
2
Mechanical and Electronic Engineering School, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037,
People’s Republic of China

E-mail: xuzhdgyq@seu.edu.cn

Received 24 February 2012, in final form 8 May 2012

Published 28 June 2012
Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/21/075034
Abstract
Both experimental and modeling studies of magnetic field induced viscoelastic properties of
magnetorheological (MR) elastomers under different loading cases are discussed. Anisotropic
MR elastomer (MRE) samples with different concentrations of carbonyl iron powder, natural
rubber and additives are fabricated and four MRE vibration mitigation devices are
manufactured to investigate the dynamic viscoelastic properties of MREs under varying
magnetic fields, displacement amplitudes and frequencies in the shear mode. The
characteristics of the dynamic properties of the MRE devices are obtained in terms of the
experimentally determined shear storage modulus and loss factor. These results demonstrate
that the MREs exhibit variable stiffness and damping properties. Based on the studies of
properties of viscoelastic materials and the experimental results of MREs, a parameter model
is proposed to describe MRE performances. The four parameters under various working
conditions, such as magnetic field, displacement amplitude and frequency, are identified by
using the Matlab optimization algorithm. Comparisons between experimental and numerical
results are discussed, and the results show that the proposed parameter model can describe the
performances of MRE devices very well.
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction operate within a postyield continuous shear or flow regime [4].

A magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is a kind of smart
material and its mechanical properties can be controlled
rapidly, continuously and reversibly by applying an external
magnetic field [1]. The physical phenomena seen in MREs
are very similar to those in MR fluids [2, 3], where
the magnetizable particles form an anisotropic ordered
pre-configuration such as chains or more complex structures,
which are solidified into a polymer media. However, the
particle chains within the elastomer composite are intended
to operate in the preyield regime, whereas MR fluids typically
3 Address for correspondance: School of Civil Engineering, Southeast
University, Si-Pai Lou 2#, Nanjing 210096, People’s Republic of China.
The devices manufactured by MR fluid have good properties
of high output force and quick response but disadvantages of
easy precipitation and leakage. MREs are solid-state analogs
of MR fluids and a new branch of MR materials, which
have no problems of precipitation and leakage but have both
the MR effect and good mechanical performance [5]. At
present, most of the studies on the mechanical properties
of MREs are interested in the reversible change in shear
modulus with external magnetic fields. Some reports in the
literature show that the matrix material has an influence on
the MR effect of the MREs. Lokander and Stenberg have
showed that the relative MR effect was higher in softer
elastomers [6]. Therefore, for the purpose of obtaining high

0964-1726/12/075034+12$33.00 1 c 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK & the USA


Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
MR effects, soft matrices such as silicon rubber [7] and
gels [8] were selected. It has been reported that the maximum
increase in the shear modulus due to the MR effect is about
50–60% of the zero-field modulus, depending on the matrix
elastomer [9, 10], and the maximum relative MR effect of
the MREs can be up to 188% [11]. However, MREs based
on those soft elastomer matrices are usually ill-suited for
most load-bearing applications due to their low strength and
reduced fatigue life. The natural rubbers are usually used as
the matrix for fabricating the MREs because of their excellent
mechanical properties [12–14]. Furthermore, the addition of
appropriate additives to MREs has also been proved effective
in decreasing the zero-field shear modulus and enhancement
of the relative MR effect of materials [15]. There are two
methods, the solvent method and the mixing method [16],
which are used for fabricating MREs based on different
kinds of matrices. The solvent method is better suited for the
matrix which can be solvated in organic solvent, and the latter
method is inclined to fabricate mass production of MREs. The
possible uses of MREs are clearly in dynamic applications. In
several studies, dynamic performance testing has been used to
measure the shear storage modulus of MRE devices. In most
of these studies a sandwich-type test system has been used,
where the MRE was attached between metallic plates [17–19].
Until now, the field-dependent modulus of MREs was
studied in two aspects: microscopic and macroscopic. The
former, that is, the microphysical model, was proposed based
on the magnetic dipole interactions between two adjacent
particles of the chain. Shiga et al [20] analyzed the modulus
change of the material by simplifying the dipole interactions
in the same direction as the external field, and assumed
that the magnetic interaction only exists between the two
nearby dipoles. Jolly et al [7] proposed a point-dipole model,
where the magnetic interaction occurs only between the
adjacent particles within a chain. Davis [21] calculated the
shear increment by using finite element analysis, which was
for isolated single chains of periodically spaced dipoles.
Borcea and Bruno [22] presented a model that takes into
account the fully coupled magneto-elastic interactions, which
are calculated from the basic minimum energy principle of
magneto-elasticity. The latter, described as a relationship
of force–displacement and stress–strain, is a behavior of
macro-mechanics. In this aspect, very few mathematical
models are available to predict their properties. For research
in MR fluids, the parametric model is a widely used
method for predicting the dynamic properties of practical MR
dampers [23, 24]. Shen et al [13] derived a mathematical
model to represent the stress–strain relationship of the MRE
by taking into account all dipole interactions in a chain.
Li et al [25] proposed a four-parameter linear viscoelastic
model that could predict the dynamic properties of MRE
performances under various working conditions.
In this study, a method for fabricating MR elastomers
is introduced and four MRE devices with different particle
proportions are manufactured. The dynamic tests are carried
out to compare the performances of the specimens under
different loading cases, and the effects of magnetic fields,
displacement amplitudes and frequencies on MREs dynamic
2
J-T Zhu et al
properties are analyzed. In particular, the viscoelastic
properties of MREs will be investigated. Furthermore, a
magnetic field induced viscoelastic parameter model is
developed to describe the viscoelastic properties of MREs.
To explain its cause: the increment of magnetic particles will
result in the hardness of the MRE increasing; that is, the
stiffness as well as the loss factor will also increase.
2. Manufacturing of MRE vibration mitigation
devices
2.1. Preparation of MREs
Three main material components, including matrix, particles,
and additives, are used to fabricate MREs. The matrix material
used in this study is natural rubber (NR). The particles used
are carbonyl iron power, type R2F, with a mean particle size
of approximately 3.30 µm. The additives, i.e. reinforcing
agent (the semi-reinforcing carbon black), accelerating agent
(accelerating agent CZ), protective agents (protective agent
4010NA and D), and vulcanized agent (sulfur S-series,
zinc oxide and magnesium oxide), are used to improve the
performance of the vulcanized rubber. The MRE samples
are prepared by mixing the above components in different
proportions, by weight.
2.2. Manufacturing of vibration mitigation devices
In this study, in order to investigate the properties of stiffness
of MREs changing with the magnetic field, four MRE
devices are manufactured, as seen in figure 1, which is
a sandwich form. The plates of the devices are made of
aluminum to ensure the uniformity of the magnetic field.
The manufacturing of MRE devices consists of mixing,
pre-forming configuration and curing. Firstly, 100 phr rubber,
45.5 phr additives and the carbonyl iron particles are mixed
homogeneously using a two roll mill, type XK-400, in
which phr is the weight parts based on per hundred parts
of rubber. Then, the mixture and the device parts are put
into a mold for pre-forming under an external magnetic
field of 100 mT, generated by the high temperature resistant
permanent magnet, as shown in figure 2, at 120 ◦ C for
10 min. Finally, the device samples are vulcanized on a plate
vulcanization machine, type TH-6009. The vulcanization
process is operated under a pressure of approximately 15 MPa
and at 150 ◦ C for 20 min. In our study, these manufactured
MRE devices are respectively named NR50, NR60, NR70
and NR80, corresponding to particle weight fractions of 50%,
60%, 70% and 80%, respectively.
3. Experimental analysis
3.1. Experimental setup and procedure
The dynamical properties of the MR devices are tested using
a universal testing machine, material test system MTS (type
PA-100) with a maximum force of ±100 kN. The magnetic
field on both sides of the tested device, ranging from 0 mT
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
Figure 1. MRE device. (a) MRE device photo. (b) Structure diagram of the MRE device.
Figure 2. Manufacturing setup.
up to 300 mT, is generated by a magnetic field apparatus.
The magnetic field apparatus consists of permanent magnets
and aluminum boxes, the magnetic field strength of which is
changed by changing the distance of the two boxes and the
quantity of the magnets. The experimental setup is shown
in figure 3. With the material test system, the displacement
control mode is employed to measure the dynamic properties
of the MRE device.
For testing of the dynamic properties, sinusoidal
excitations with constant displacement amplitudes and driving
frequencies are applied to the MRE devices under different
magnetic fields, and the resultant time-dependent forces are
then recorded. In our tests, three typical strain amplitudes of
12.5%, 25% and 50% (the dimensions of MRE parts of the
device are 40 mm × 40 mm × 8 mm, and the shear area is
40 mm × 40 mm), corresponding to the three displacement
3
J-T Zhu et al
amplitudes of 1, 2 and 4 mm, and four typical frequencies (1,
2, 5 and 10 Hz) as well as a number of magnetic fields are
selected. For each case, the real-time force and displacement
signals are recorded by the data acquisition system and then
used to reconstruct the force–displacement hysteresis loop.
The experimental procedure can be described as follows:
the preload used in the dynamic testing is 1/5 of the
maximum force of each sample. The frequency of the
sinusoidal loading is first varied from 1 to 10 Hz in steps
of 1, 2, 5 and 10 Hz and the displacement amplitude
is kept constant at 2 mm. The magnetic field strength is
increased from 0 mT stepwise to 300 mT (0, 100, 200 and
300 mT) for each testing frequency. In subsequent testing,
the frequency is kept constant at 10 Hz and the displacement
amplitude is varied. The displacement amplitudes used are
1, 2 and 4 mm, respectively. Measurements with a constant
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
Figure 3. Experimental setup.
frequency are carried out passively and then under a maximum
magnetic field strength of 300 mT. For each loading case,
the MRE device is first tested without an applied magnetic
field to obtain the basic composite properties, namely the
original shear storage modulus and loss factor. Then, without
removing the device from the test apparatus, the device is
immediately measured again under a magnetic field. On the
basis of the measured force–displacement loops, the dynamic
stiffness and the loss factor are calculated by counting the
energy loss per cycle [26].
3.2. Results and discussion
In the experimental study, harmonic loadings with various
displacement amplitudes and frequencies, under different
magnetic fields, are used to study dynamic properties of MRE
devices. Figure 4 shows the force–displacement relationships
of the MRE devices at a constant displacement amplitude
of 2 mm, frequency of 10 Hz but at various magnetic fields
from 0 to 300 mT. It can be seen from this figure that
the force–displacement curves form elliptical loops, and the
slope of the major axis of the elliptical loops varies with
the magnetic field, which means that the stiffness of MREs
varies with the magnetic field. The areas of the elliptical loops
increase steadily with the increment of the magnetic fields,
which demonstrates that the damping capacity of the MRE
devices is a function of the applied magnetic field. These
experimental results demonstrate that not only the areas are
dependent on the magnetic fields but also the slope of the
major axis of the elliptical loops is different, which means
that MREs exhibit variable stiffness and damping properties.
This feature is totally different from MR fluids, which mainly
exhibit damping controllable properties. Figure 5 shows the
4
J-T Zhu et al
shear storage modulus and loss factors of MRE devices at
various magnetic fields, which can be calculated from the
ellipse loops in figure 4. It can be seen from this figure that
the values of shear storage modulus and loss factor increase
with the increment of the magnetic fields; for example, the
shear storage modulus of aligned MREs increases from 1.24
to 1.52 MPa, a growth of 22.6%, when the magnetic flux
increases from 0 to 300 mT, and the loss factor increases from
0.206 to 0.245, a growth of 18.93%, which demonstrates that
MRE materials have controllable mechanical properties.
Figure 6 shows the force–displacement relationships
of the MRE devices at a constant frequency of 2 Hz,
magnetic field of 300 mT but at various displacement
amplitudes of 1, 2 and 4 mm. It can be seen from figure 6
that the force–displacement curves form regular elliptical
loops at displacement amplitudes of 1 and 2 mm, but the
force–displacement curve forms an irregular elliptical loop
at the displacement amplitudes of 4 mm. This is because
there will be a bond failure on the contact surface between
the particles and the matrix with the increment of the
displacement amplitudes, which results in loss stress. Figure 7
shows the shear storage modulus and loss factors of MRE
devices at different displacement amplitudes, which can
be calculated by counting the energy loss per cycle from
several consecutive force–displacement loops with a constant
frequency and magnetic flux. It can be seen from this figure
that the values of the shear storage modulus and the loss factor
decrease with the increment of the displacement amplitudes;
for example, the measured maximum and minimum values
of the shear storage modulus of sample NR80 are 1.41 MPa
and 1.12 MPa, respectively, a decrease of 20.57%. And
the loss factor value decreases from 0.268 to 0.246 when
the displacement amplitudes increase from 1 to 4 mm.
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
Figure 4. Force–displacement relationships for different magnetic fields at 2 mm and 10 Hz. (a) NR50, (b) NR60, (c) NR70 and (d) NR80.
Figure 5. Mechanical properties of MRE devices at different magnetic fields. (a) Shear storage modulus G1 . (b) Loss factor η.
These results demonstrate that the MREs are very sensitive
to the strain amplitude. This is because the magnetic
effect mainly depends on the distance between magnetic
particles; therefore, the interactions between the particles in
MREs sharply decrease with the increment of displacement
amplitude.
Figure 8 shows the force–displacement relationships of
the MRE devices at a constant displacement amplitude of
2 mm, magnetic fields of 300 mT but at various frequencies
from 1 to 10 Hz. From figure 8 it can be seen that the areas of
the elliptical loops increase steadily with the increment of the
frequencies, which demonstrates that the damping capacity
of the MRE devices becomes larger with the increment of
the frequencies. As presented in figure 9, at each testing
5
J-T Zhu et al
frequency level the shear storage modulus and loss factor
generally increase with the weight proportion of the particles.
And the shear storage modulus and loss factor of each MRE
device sample increase with the increment of the frequencies,
especially the values of loss factors; for example, the loss
factor value of sample NR80 increases from 0.147 to 0.245
when the frequencies increase from 1 to 10 Hz. The reason
for this is that the fraction times between particles in the
matrix increase when the working frequency becomes larger.
Furthermore, the slope of the main axis increases steadily
when the frequency inputs change from 1 to 5 Hz, while the
slope of the main axis increases slightly when the frequency
inputs change from 5 to 10 Hz. This implies that the stiffness
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034 J-T Zhu et al

Figure 6. Force–displacement relationships for different displacement inputs at 2 Hz and 300 mT. (a) NR50, (b) NR60, (c) NR70 and
(d) NR80.

Figure 7. Mechanical properties of MRE devices at different displacement amplitudes. (a) Shear storage modulus G1 . (b) Loss factor η.

of the device shows a slowly increasing trend with the
frequency.
Figure 10 shows the force–displacement relationships of
the MRE devices at a constant displacement amplitude of
2 mm, frequency of 10 Hz and magnetic field of 300 mT. It
can be seen from this figure that the areas of the elliptical
loops and the slope of the main axis of the elliptical loops
vary with the proportion of particles, which demonstrates
that the damping capacity of the MRE devices is related
to the proportion of particles. In addition, the slope of the
major axis of the force–displacement loop grew steeper and
thus the dynamic stiffness increased when the proportion
of particles is increased. This is because when a magnetic
field is applied to the MREs device, a magnetic interaction
force between the particles occurs which can increase the
stiffness of the MREs, and then obstruct the movement of the
rubber molecule chains. The interfacial friction between the
rubber and particles increases with the increment of magnetic
field. Moreover, the more the particle content, the large the
obstruction effect.
4. Mathematical modeling
4.1. Viscoelastic fractional derivative model
The experimental results, shown in figures 4 and 5, indicate
that the mechanical properties of MRE devices vary with

6
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034 J-T Zhu et al

Figure 8. Force–displacement relationships for different frequency inputs at 2 mm and 300 mT. (a) NR50, (b) NR60, (c) NR70 and
(d) NR80.

Figure 9. Mechanical properties of MRE devices at different frequencies. (a) Shear storage modulus G1 . (b) Loss factor η.

magnetic field. In addition, the response forces and input
displacements formed perfect elliptical loops when the
displacement amplitude is not larger, which demonstrates
that the MREs exhibit linear viscoelastic properties. These
results demonstrate that the MRE material exhibits a
feature that its modulus and damping capability are both
magnetic field dependent. To predict these characteristics,
a magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model is developed by
us, as shown in figure 11, which is extended based on the
viscoelastic fractional derivative model [27]. In this model,
a spring element, a fractional derivative dashpot element, a
nonlinear spring element and an additional analogous dashpot
element are paralleled together. The spring element paralleled
with the fractional derivative dashpot element, which similarly
to the Kelvin model (just using the fractional derivative
dashpot to take the place of the Newton dashpot), are used
to represent the viscoelastic characteristic of the matrix. The
nonlinear spring element represents the magnet field induced
effect of the MREs. The additional analogous dashpot element
is used to represent the variable characteristic of damping with
magnetic field.
In this model, G0 is the shear modulus of the MRE
without a magnetic field, τ is a parameter related to time,
Gm (H) is the modulus generated from the MR effects, and
µ is a parameter determined by experimental results. α is
a fraction number and the range of α is 0 to 1, and in

7
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
Figure 10. Force–displacement relationships for different MRE
devices.
Figure 11. Magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model for MREs.
this model α is the arbitrary order derivative, which is the
correct difference between the Newton dashpot and the Abel
dashpot [27]. G0 and G0 τ α form a fractional derivative model,
which mainly deals with the viscoelastic characteristic of
the matrix, while Gm (H) represents the field dependence of
the modulus, and µGm (H)τ deals with the field dependence
damping capability. Suppose the input strain is ε, while the
output stress is σ , the stress–strain relationship is given by
σ (t) = G0 ε(t) + G0 τ α Dα [ε(t)]
+ Gm (H)ε(t) + µGm (H)τ ε̇(t),
where α is the fractional order. The Fourier transformation is
undertaken for equation (1); then
σ (ω) = G0 ε (ω) + G0 τ α (iω)α ε (ω)
+ Gm (H)ε(ω) + µGm (H)τ iωε(ω).
The complex modulus G∗ of the model can be expressed
as
σ (ω)
G∗ = = G0 + G0 τ α (iω)α + Gm (H)
ε (ω)
+ µGm (H)τ iω = G1 (ω) + iG2 (ω),
where G1 and G2 are the real and imaginary parts of the
complex modulus, respectively. The iα = cos απ απ
2 + i sin 2
is undertaken for equation (3), and then the storage modulus
G1 and loss modulus G2 can be obtained as
 απ 
G1 = Gm (H) + G0 1 + τ α ωα cos (4)
2
απ
G2 = µGm (H)ωτ + G0 τ α ωα sin , (5)
2
J-T Zhu et al
and the loss factor can be calculated as
G2 µGm (H)ω + G0 τ ωα sin απ
η= = 2

, (6)
G1 Gm (H) + G0 1 + τ ωα cos απ
2
where ω is the driving frequency. Suppose that the strain input
ε is a harmonic input.
ε(t) = ε0 sin(ωt). (7)
The steady-state response of the stress can be obtained as
q
σ (t) = ε0 G1 2 + G2 2 sin(ωt + φ), (8)
where φ is the phase angle difference between the input and
the output, which can be calculated as φ = tan−1 (G2 /G1 ), that
is φ = tan−1 η.
In this experiment, the excited input is displacement u;
then the steady-state response of the force can be expressed as
q
mAs
F(t) = u0 G1 2 + G2 2 sin(ωt + φ), (9)
ts
where m is the number of shear planes of the MRE device
samples. As and ts are the area and the height of the shear
plane.
4.2. Parameter identification
In this study, the developed magnetic field induced
viscoelastic parameter model includes five parameters, i.e.,
G0 , τ, α, µ and Gm (H). The parameter Gm (H) is determined
by magnetic field and shear strain, which can be obtained by
experimental results or microphysical modeling [3, 16–19].
Therefore, there are four parameters that need to be identified
in this model. The model uses the shear strain as an input,
calculates the storage modulus G1 and the loss factor η needed
for the model, and then gives the shear stress, given by
equation (8). The four parameters are estimated on the basis
of the least squares method to minimize the error between the
(1) model-calculated force of FM and the experimental result of
FE. The error in the model is represented by the objective
function J given by
N X
X n
2
J= FMj (i) − FEj (i) , (10)
(2) j=1 i=1
where N is the number of experimental cases, and n is the
experimental number of hysteresis loops. FM j is the force
value calculated by equation (9). This optimization is done
by a compositing program in the software Matlab.
(3) The four parameters of different MRE device samples
are identified for each experimental case. Taking the MRE
device sample NR60 for example, the four parameters are
estimated by using the least squares method on the basis of the
experimental data, which are obtained from the experimental
case of different magnetic fields. The identified results are
shown in figure 12, and the values of identified parameters
are G0 = 0.41 MPa, τ = 0.43 s, α = 0.11 and µ = 0.015.
It can be seen from figure 12 that the calculated values are
in good agreement with the experimental data, especially, the
8
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034 J-T Zhu et al

Figure 12. The fitting results of parameters of NR60. (a) Magnetic flux of 0 mT. (b) Magnetic flux of 100 mT. (c) Magnetic flux of 200 mT.
(d) Magnetic flux of 300 mT.

fitting result of G1 is better than that of the loss factor η for
the reason that the shear storage modulus G1 changing with
the magnetic field induced modulus Gm (H) determined by
experimental results, but the loss factor η is a complicated
parameter determined by several conditions.
For the other three samples, following the same method,
these four parameters, G0 , τ, α and µ are also estimated at a
constant strain amplitude of 25%, and the identified results
are listed in table 1. It can be seen from table 1 that the
parameters G0 , τ and α increase steadily with the increment

9
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
Figure 13. A comparison of NR60 experimental and model-calculated results.
Table 1. The results of identified parameters.
Parameters
Samples G0 (MPa) τ (s) α µ
NR50 0.37 0.40 0.10 0.024
NR60 0.41 0.43 0.11 0.015
NR70 0.46 0.49 0.13 0.003
NR80 0.54 0.51 0.15 0.001
of the proportion of particles. For example, the original shear
modulus G0 increases from 0.37 to 0.54 MPa, which is a great
increment of 45.9%. The parameter τ , and α related to loss
modulus are also increased with the changing of the particle
proportions. These results demonstrated that the original
modulus G0 and the damping capability are influenced by the
proportions of magnetic particles.
4.3. Comparison between experimental and numerical results
From table 1, the shear storage modulus G1 and loss factor
η can be obtained based on equations (4) and (6). Take the
parameters of NR60 for example, the relationship of G1 and
η of sample NR60 with magnetic field inputs is shown in
figure 13. It can be seen from this figure that the parameters
of mechanical properties G1 and η calculated by experimental
data and numerical simulation are in good agreement.
Obviously, the shear storage G1 of the experimental data and
numerical simulation increases steadily when the magnetic
flux increases from 0 to 300 mT. Unlike the shear storage
modulus G1 , the loss factor η increases with the magnetic
fields slightly. For example, at a strain amplitude of 25% and
a driving frequency of 10 Hz, the experimental values of G1
can increase from 0.755 MPa up to 0.914 MPa, an increment
of 0.159 MPa, which demonstrates again that the MRE can
work as variable stiffness devices.
Figure 14 shows the force–displacement relationship
curves of the four MRE devices, which were reconstructed by
using the parameters estimated from the system identification
process, and compares them with the experimental data
curves. It can be seen from these figures that the curves plotted
by the experimental data and numerical simulation can form
elliptical loops and are in good agreement. The areas and the
slope of the main axis of the elliptical loops, reconstructed
10
J-T Zhu et al
by numerical simulation, increase with the increment of the
magnetic fields, which demonstrates that the stiffness and
damping of MRE devices can change with the magnetic fields.
And the comparison results demonstrate that the model can
simulate the experimental data well, that is to say the proposed
model can reflect the characteristics of MREs that the stiffness
varies with the magnetic fields.
Figure 15 shows the force–displacement curves of NR60
at different experimental cases, which were plotted by using
the same estimated results listed in table 1, and compared
with the experimental data curves. It can be seen from the
plots that the model can simulate the experimental data at
different experimental cases; however, the simulation result
in figure 15(b) is better than that of figure 15(a). This is
because the fitting results for the loss factor are worse at
a frequency of 2 Hz, as shown in figure 12. These results
demonstrate that the proposed model can reflect the variable
stiffness characteristics of MREs at different experimental
cases, although the simulation precision is not higher at some
experimental cases.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, anisotropic MRE samples based on natural
rubber with different weight fractions of particles are
fabricated. For the purpose of studying the mechanical
properties of MREs, MRE vibration mitigation devices
are manufactured and dynamic tests are carried out. A
magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model is proposed to
describe the performance of MREs. The parameters of the
proposed model are identified, and the force–displacement
relationship curves obtained from model simulation and
experimental data are compared. The following conclusions
can be obtained from the experimental and numerical analysis.
(1) The force–displacement curves of the MRE device
samples can form perfect elliptical loops, when the
displacement amplitude is not above 2 mm (strain of
25%). The areas and the slope of the main axis of the
elliptical loops vary with the magnetic field, which reflects
the variable stiffness and damping properties of MREs.
(2) The shear storage modulus G1 and loss factor η of MREs
vary with the working conditions, i.e., magnetic fields,
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034 J-T Zhu et al

Figure 14. The force–displacement curves of experiment and simulation for different MRE devices. (a) NR50, (b) NR60, (c) NR70 and
(d) NR80.

Figure 15. The force–displacement curves of NR60 plotted by experimental data and model simulation at different experimental cases. (a)
Frequency of 2 Hz. (b) Displacement amplitude of 1 mm.

strain amplitudes and excitation frequencies. G1 and η Acknowledgments

steadily increase with the increment of magnetic fields
and driving frequencies, but decrease with the strain
amplitudes. In addition, G1 and η obviously increase with
the increment of weight fraction of particles.
(3) The comparison between the experimental results and
the numerical values demonstrates that the proposed
magnetoviscoelasticity parametric model can describe the
MRE performance effectively.
The study is financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China with grant number 61004064,
the NSAF with grant number 11176008, the Project Funded
by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu
Higher Education Institutions with grant number CE02-1/2-
019, and the Scientific Research Foundation of Graduate
School of Southeast University with grant number YBJJ1128.
These supports are gratefully acknowledged.

11
Smart Mater. Struct. 21 (2012) 075034
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