Hydrodynamic response time of magnetorheological fluid in valve mode: an initial study

Abstract The transient behaviour of magnetorheological (MR) damper is a very important parameter affecting the performance of this technology in modern semi-actively controlled suspension systems. Currently, the transient behaviour of the MR damper is limited by dynamics of the MR fluid (MRF) itself. The significant part of MRF response time is a hydrodynamic response time which is connected with transient rheology and development of velocity profile in the slit gap. In this paper, the method for measuring the hydrodynamic response time of MRF operating in valve mode is presented. The hydrodynamic response time of MRF-132DG achieved value of τ 90 = 0.78 ms for H = 17.5 kA/m a value of τ 90 = 0.65 ms for H = 34 kA/m for given geometry of gap. The difference between model and experiment is lower in higher yield stresses of MRF.