Effect of Particle Size on Shear Stress of Magnetorheological Fluids

Magnetorheological fluids (MRF), known for their variable shear stress contain magnetisable micrometer-sized particles (few micrometer to 200 micrometers) in a nonmagnetic carrier liquid. To avoid settling of particles, smaller sized (3-10 micrometers) particles are preferred, while larger sized particles can be used in MR brakes, MR clutches, etc. as mechanical stirring action in those mechanisms does not allow particles to settle down. Ideally larger sized particles provide higher shear stress compared to smaller sized particles. However there is need to explore the effect of particle sizes on the shear stress. In the current paper, a comparison of different particle sizes on MR effect has been presented. Particle size distributions of iron particles were measured using HORIBA Laser Scattering Particle Size Distribution Analyser. The particle size distribution, mean sizes and standard deviations have been presented. The nature of particle shapes has been observed using scanning electron microscopy. To explore the effect of particle sizes, nine MR fluids containing small, large and mixed sized carbonyl iron particles have been synthesized. Three concentrations (9%, 18% and 36% by volume) for each size of particles have been used. The shear stresses of those MRF samples have been measured using ANTON PAAR MCR-102 Rheometer. With increase in volume fraction of iron particles, the MR fluids synthesized using "mixed sized particles" show better shear stress compared to the MR fluids containing "smaller sized spherical shaped particles" and "larger sized flaked shaped particles" at higher shear rate.