Magneto-rheological variable inertia flywheel

A novel vibration absorber based on variable inertia flywheel by using magnetorheological fluid (MRVIF) was proposed in this study. The effect of rotational speed and the excitation current applied to MR damper on the moment of inertia are analytically developed. Under different rotation speeds and excitation currents, the moment of inertia is calculated. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed MRVIF, the prototype of MRVIF was manufactured. Experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness and the variable characteristics of the moment of inertia of the MRVIF under different excited conditions. The results show that the moment of inertia of the MRVIF can semi-actively be tuned. The test results are in good agreement with the simulation results.