A COMPARISON OF THE PERFORMANCE OF ER FLUIDS IN SQUEEZE

Abstract

This paper is concerned with an experimental and theoretical study of the characteristics of two ER fluids and their application to vibration control when used in squeeze flow. It is seen that when the fluids are sandwiched between two electrodes, the lower one oscillating and the upper one fixed, displacement control of the lower electrode can be achieved by control of the applied field. Of particular interest is the dependence of the force transmitted across the fluids on oscillation frequency and applied field. A time-dependent theoretical model is seen to satisfactorily predict the device performance when allowance is made for a non-linear dependence of the post-yield shear stress on shear rate.