Determining the optimal composition of magnetorheological fluid for a short-stroke magnetorheological damper

The current study investigates the effect of viscosity of base oil and weight fraction of carbonyl iron particles on maximum yield stress and effective damping range of a short-stroke magnetorheological damper (stroke length of 2 mm) designed for tool vibration mitigation. It is difficult to find the exact composition of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) based on the design equations, as unidentified practical parameters influence their behaviour hence, optimization by experimental techniques is necessary. Optimal composition of MRF are identified by genetic algorithm through central composite design of experiment. A validation study is conducted to cross verify the optimum values delivered by the algorithm. The damper is fitted onto lathe machine with the optimal fluid composition to evaluate its performance in controlling the tool vibration. The damper has been designed for the specific speed, feed and depth of cut however, the design procedure for developing a damper for higher/other cutting conditions can be achieved by the design scheme mentioned in this article. The vibration level of tool reduced by 28.66% and the amplitude of cutting force reduced by 68.18% indicating reduction of chatter vibration with the damper. An improved surface finish has been observed from 4.8 to 1.6 & mu;m.