Development of a Performance-Enhanced Hybrid Magnetorheological Elastomer-Fluid for Semi-Active Vibration Isolation: Static and Dynamic Experimental Characterization

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are a class of emerging smart materials in which their mechanical and rheological properties can be immediately and reversibly altered upon the application of a magnetic field. The change in the MRE properties under the magnetic field is widely known as the magnetorheological (MR) effect. Despite their inherent viscoelastic property-change characteristics, there are disadvantages incorporated with MREs, such as slow response time and the suspension of the magnetic particles in the elastomer matrix, which depress their MR effect. This study investigates the feasibility of a hybrid magnetorheological elastomer-fluid (MRE-F) for longitudinal vibration isolation. The hybrid MRE-F is fabricated by encapsulating MR fluid inside the elastomer matrix. The inclusion of the MR fluid can enhance the MR effect of the elastomer by providing a better response to the magnetic field and, hence, can improve the vibration isolation capabilities. For this purpose, an MRE-based coupling is developed, and isolation performance is investigated in terms of the linear transmissibility factor. The performance of the hybrid MRE-F was compared against two different MRE samples. The results show that further enhancement of MR-effect in MREs is possible by including MR fluid inside the elastomer. The hybrid MRE-F exhibited better stiffness change with the current increase and recorded the highest value of 55.911 N/mm. The transmissivity curves revealed that the MRE-F contributed to a broader shift in the natural frequency with a 7.2 Hz overall shift at 8.9 mT. The damping characteristics are higher in MRE-F, recording the highest percentage increase in damping with 33.04%. Overall, the results reveal the promising potential of hybrid MRE-F in developing MRE-based coupling for longitudinal vibration isolation.