A Variable Stiffness MR Damper for Vibration Suppression

This paper presents the development of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based variable stiffness damper and analysis its applications in vibration suppression. The MR fluid isolator used a MR valve control unit and bladders to achieve the variable stiffness and damping in stepless and relative large scope. A mathematical model of the isolator was derived, a prototype of the MR fluid isolator was fabricated and its dynamic behavior was measured in vibration under various applied magnetic fields. The effective stiffness and damping coefficients of the isolator under various magnetic fields were identified and the dynamic performances of isolator were evaluated with simulation. The results demonstrated that the developed MR bladder system can efficiently suppress the structural vibrations.