Temperature behavior of magnetorheological fluids

Magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) show a high but reversible rise of the viscosity upon application of an external magnetic field. This effect can be utilized in controllable friction dampers where the MR fluid flows through a gap with a adjustable magnetic field. The change in the magnitude of the magnetic field leads to a change of the viscosity of the fluid which in turn effects the pressure drop in the system. So the damping force can be controlled by the magnitude of the external magnetic field. This energy dissipation leads to a rise of the damper temperature. For designing those dampers it is vital to know the influence of the geometry, which influences the magnetic field strength, as well as the flow properties and the temperature dependence of the magnetorheological effect. An approach to the solution of this problem is shown by using an Arrhenius relationship, where the fluid viscosity is a function of the shear rate, the magnetic field and the temperature. The aim of the here presented research is to show how the fluid behavior can be simply modeled for use in CFD codes to design dampers or other applications.