Damping force characteristics of electrorheological shock absorbers with different electrode designs

This article presents the effect of electrode design parameters on the damping force of an electrorheological (ER) shock absorber for passenger vehicles. As a first step, an ER fluid is synthesized by dispersing arabic gum particles into non-conducting oil, and its field-dependent Bingham characteristics are experimentally evaluated. The Bingham model of the ER fluid is then formulated and incorporated with the governing equations of motion of the ER shock absorber. Subsequently, several ER shock absorbers are designed and manufactured with various electrode designs, which have three different electrode gaps, lengths, and materials, respectively. The field-dependent damping force of the manufactured shock absorbers is demonstrated in the time domain and compared with simulation results. In addition, the vibration control performance of a quarter-car suspension system is presented and compared with different electrode gaps and lengths.