Urethane Magnetorheological Elastomers - Manufacturing, Microstructure and Properties

Abstract

In this paper studies on urethane magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) microstructure in respect to their magnetic and mechanical properties are reported. MREs were obtained from a mixture of polyurethane gel and carbonyl-iron particles cured in a magnetic field of 100 and 300 mT. The amount of particles was varied from 1.5 to 33 vol. %. Samples with different arrangements of particles were produced. Effect of the amount of ferromagnetic particles and their arrangement on microstructure and properties in relation to the external magnetic field was investigated. The microstructure was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Magnetic properties were measured using vibrating sample magnetometer. Rheological and mechanical properties under compression were also examined.