Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559–562

Analysis and design of a cylindrical magneto-rheological fluid brake

J. Huang*, J.Q. Zhang, Y. Yang, Y.Q. Wei
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Chongqing University, 400044 Chongqing, China

Abstract

A magneto-rheological (MR) fluid brake is a device to transmit torque by the shear force of an MR fluid. An MR rotary brake has the
property that its braking torque changes quickly in response to an external magnetic field strength. In this paper, the design method of the
cylindrical MR fluid brake is investigated theoretically. The equation of the torque transmitted by the MR fluid within the brake is derived to
provide the theoretical foundation in the cylindrical design of the brake. Based on this equation, after mathematical manipulation, the
calculations of the volume, thickness and width of the annular MR fluid within the cylindrical MR fluids brake are yielded.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: MR fluids; Brake; Design method

1. Introduction after algebraic manipulation, the volume and thickness of the

Magneto-rheological (MR) fluids consist of stable suspen-
sions of micro-sized, magnetizable particles dispersed in a
carrier medium such as silicon oil or water. When an external
magnetic field is applied, the polarization induced in sus-
pended particles results in the MR effect of the MR fluids. The
MR effect directly influences the mechanical properties of the
MR fluids. The suspended particles in the MR fluids become
magnetized and align themselves, like chains, with the direc-
tion of the magnetic field. The formulation of these particle
chains restricts the movement of the MR fluids, thereby
increasing the yield stress of the fluids. The change is rapid,
reversible and controllablewith the magnetic field strength [1].
The mechanical properties of the MR fluids can be used in the
construction of magnetically controlled devices such as the
MR fluid rotary brake, or clutch [2–7]. To design the MR fluid
brake for a given specification, one must establish the relation-
ship between the torque developed by MR fluids and the
parameters of the structure and the magnetic field strength.
In this paper the fundamental design method of the
cylindrical MR brake is investigated theoretically. A Bing-
ham model is used to characterize the constitutive behavior of
the MR fluids subject to an external magnetic field strength.
The theoretical method is developed to analyze the torque
transmitted by the MR fluid within the brake. An engineering
expression for the torque is derived to provide the theoretical
foundation in the design of the brake. Based on this equation,
annular MR fluid within the brake is yielded.
2. Operational principle
An MR fluid brake is a device to transmit torque by the
shear stress of MR fluid. A MR rotary brake has the property
that its braking torque changes quickly in response to an
external magnetic field strength. The operational principle of
the cylindrical MR brake is shown in Fig. 1. The MR fluid
fills the working gap between the fixed outer cylinder and the
rotor. The rotor rotates at a rotational speed of o.
In the absence of an applied magnetic field, the suspended
particles of the MR fluid cannot restrict the relative motion
between the fixed outer cylinder and the rotor. However, in
the course of operation, a magnetic flux path is formed when
electric current is put through the solenoidal coil. As a result,
the particles are gathered to form chain-like structures, in the
direction of the magnetic flux path. These chain-like struc-
tures restrict the motion of the MR fluid, thereby increasing
the shear stress of the fluid. The brake can be achieved by
utilizing the shear force of the MR fluid. The braking torque
values can be adjusted continuously by changing the exter-
nal magnetic field strength [8].
3. Properties of MR fluids

*
Corresponding author. MR fluids are suspensions of micron-sized, magnetizi-
E-mail address: jhuangcq@yahoo.com.cn (J. Huang). able particles in a carrier fluid. They mainly consist of the

0924-0136/02/$ – see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 6 3 4 - 9
560 J. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559–562

Fig. 2. Shear stress versus shear rate.

4. Analysis of torque
Fig. 1. The operational principle of the MR brake.
The key question in the design of MR fluid brake is to
establish the relationship between the torque and the para-
following three components: magnetizable particles, a meters of the structure and the magnetic field strength.
carrier fluid, and some additives. The magnetizable parti- Fig. 3 shows the flow of the MR fluid in the MR brake.
cles in MR fluids induce polarization upon the application When the magnetic field is applied, the braking torque T
of an external magnetic field, which results in the MR developed by the MR fluid can be calculated by
effect of the MR fluids. The carrier fluid serves as a
T ¼ 2pr 2 wt (3)
dispersed medium and ensures the homogeneity particles
in the fluid. The additives include stabilizers and surfac- where w is the effective width of the MR effect developed by
tants. The stabilizers serve to keep the particles suspended the MR fluid, and r the radius of the annular MR fluid. The
in the fluid, whilst the surfactants are adsorbed on the shear stress t is proportional to the shear rate g_ as described
surface of the magnetic particles to enhance the polariza- by Eq. (2). The shear rate g_ can be calculated by [9]
tion induced in the suspended particles upon the applica- dor
tion of a magnetic field. g_ ¼ r (4)
dr
In the absence of an applied magnetic field, the particles in
MR fluid disperse randomly in the carrier fluid. MR fluid where or is the rotational speed in the MR fluid at radius r.
flows freely through the working gap between the fixed outer The differential of the rotational speed or can be obtained by
cylinder and the rotor. MR fluid exhibits a Newtonian-like Eqs. (2)–(4) as follows:
behavior, where the shear stress of MR fluids can be

1 T tB
described as dor ¼  dr (5)
Z 2pwr 3 r
t ¼ Z_g (1)
Integrating Eq. (5) and applying the boundary conditions of
in which t is the shear stress, Z the viscosity of the MR fluid the MR fluid brake: r ¼ r1 at or ¼ o, and r ¼ r2 at or ¼ 0;
with no applied magnetic field, and g_ the shear rate.
When the magnetic field is applied, the behavior of the
controllable fluid is often represented as a Bingham fluid
having a variable yield strength. In this model, the consti-
tutive equation is derived by the least-squares method [1]:
t ¼ tB þ Z_g (2)
where tB is the yield stress developed in response to the
applied magnetic field. Its value is dependent upon the
magnetic induction field B.
Fig. 2 shows the relationship obtained from experiment
between shear rate and shear stress, depending upon the
applied magnetic field strength. As can be seen, the MR
fluids have a variable yield strength, the shear stress increas-
ing with the applied magnetic field strength. The shear rate
has little influence on the shear stress. This result indicates
that the MR fluid exhibits Bingham behavior. Fig. 3. The analysis of the torque.
 J. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559–562 561

the braking torque T developed by the MR fluid can be Eq. (15) provides geometric constraints for the MR fluid
calculated, to yield brake based on the MR fluid material properties (Z/tB ), the
desired control torque ratio (TB/TZ) at a given rotational
4pwtB r12 r22 lnðr2 =r1 Þ 4pZwr12 r22 o
T¼ þ (6) speed o, and the radius r1 of the rotor.
r22  r12 r22  r12 The effective width of the MR fluid w can be obtained
where r1 and r2 are the radius of the rotor and the outer from Eqs. (13) and (14).
cylinder, respectively, and o is the rotational speed of the
rotor.
6. Design example of cylindrical MR brake
As shown in Fig. 3, the thickness h of the annular MR fluid
between the rotor and outer cylinder can be given by
6.1. Original data
h ¼ r2  r1 (7)
In most brake applications, the maximum mechanical
If it is assumed that the thickness is much smaller than the
power level Pm and the maximum rotational speed of the
radius of the rotor (h=r1 ! 1), Eqs. (6) and (7) can be
rotor om will be specified. For this example, the following
manipulated mathematically to yield:
parameters are given: Pm ¼ 500 W and om ¼ 100 s1 .
2pZwr13 o
T ¼ 2pwtB r12 þ (8)
h 6.2. Desired control torque ratio
Eq. (8) shows that the braking torque developed in the
cylindrical MR fluid brake can be divided into a mag- Based on the anticipated performance of the brake, and
netic-field-dependent induced yield stress component TB the properties of the MR fluid material when the magnetic
and a viscous component TZ : circuit is capable of magnetically saturating the MR fluid,
the desired control torque ratio (TB/TZ) may be chosen. For
TB ¼ 2pwtB r12 (9) this example, the desired control torque ratio is chosen to be
2pZwr13 o TB
TZ ¼ (10) ¼ 15
h TZ
The total torque T is the sum of TB and TZ , i.e.
6.3. MR fluid material
T ¼ TB þ TZ (11)
In Eqs. (9) and (10), the parameters (Z=t2B ) and (Z=tB ) have
a bearing on the MR fluid material properties. In order to
5. Thickness and width of the MR fluid reduce the dimensions of the brake, a designer should select
the highest yield stress developed in response to an applied
The active volume of annular MR fluid in the cylindrical magnetic field tB under the MR fluid saturation magnetization
MR brake can be obtained through the integration of the and the lowest viscosity of the MR fluid Z possible. With this
radius of the annular MR fluid as follows: knowledge, one can turn to an MR fluid specification sheet
Z r2 and choose appropriate fluid parameters. For this example,
V ¼ 2pw r dr (12) assume that the MR fluid can be magnetically saturated, the
r1 values of tB and Z are tB ¼ 56 kPa and Z ¼ 0:33 Pa s.
Eq. (12) can be manipulated mathematically to yield
6.4. MR fluid’s volume
V ¼ 2pr1 wh (13)
Eqs. (9)–(13) can be further manipulated to yield The maximum mechanical power level of the brake can be


 calculated by
Z TB

V¼ 2 ðTB oÞ (14) TZ
tB TZ Pm ¼ ðTB þ TZ Þom ¼ TB 1 þ om (16)
TB
Eq. (14) gives the minimum active MR fluid volume that is Now, the calculation of the MR fluid volume V in the MR
necessary within the brake in order to achieve the desired fluid brake can be calculated from Eqs. (13) and (16) as
control torque ratio (TB /TZ ) at a given rotational speed o, and V ¼ 0:74  106 m3.
the specified controllable torque TB .
Eqs. (9) and (10) can be manipulated algebraically to 6.5. Rotor’s radius
derive the thickness of the annular MR fluid as follows:


 The minimum dimension of the radius of the rotor r1 is
Z TB constrained to the inner structure dimensions of the brake.
h¼ r1 o (15)
tB TZ For this example, r1 is chosen as r1 ¼ 50 mm.
562 J. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559–562
6.6. MR fluid’s thickness
The thickness h of annular MR fluid can be calculated
from Eq. (14) as h ¼ 0:442 mm.
6.7. MR fluid’s effective width
The effective width w of the MR effect developed by the
MR fluid can be calculated from Eq. (12) as w ¼ 5:33 mm.
7. Conclusions
The geometric design method of a cylindrical MR fluid
brake is investigated theoretically in this paper. The braking
torque developed by the MR fluid within the brake under
different magnetic field strength conditions has been analyzed.
The engineering design calculations of the volume, thickness
and width of the annular MR fluid within the brake are derived.
The parameters of the thickness and width of the fluid in the
brake can be calculated from the equations obtained, when the
required mechanical power level, the rotational speed of the
rotor, and the desired control torque ratio are specified.
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