Study on magnetorheological shear thickening fluid

In this paper, a magnetic-field-controlled and speed-activated magnetorheological shear thickening fluid (MRSTF) is presented. We fabricated a kind of shear thickening fluid (STF) which was composed of nanosize silica particles suspended in a solvent, ethylene glycol, at high concentrations. Then the micron-size carbonyl iron particles with different volume fractions were added to the STF to fabricate the MRSTF. Their dynamic properties in different shear strain rates and magnetic fields were tested by using a rheometer. The suspension shows an abrupt increase in complex viscosity beyond a critical dynamic shear rate and a magnetic-field-controllable characteristic, as well as being reversible.