A Review of Magnetorheological Fluid Damper Technology and its Applications

A scientific literature review has been conducted on Magnetorheological Fluid Damper technology and its applications, in order to understand the requirement, the working style and the opportunities for damper development. In the last years, Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) Damper technology has attracted great attention in the field of vibration reduction. Magnetorheological fluid is a smart material used for vibration control. Its shear yield stress can be changed in few milliseconds under the active magnetic field. Essential properties of MR fluid are its rheological ones, its redispersibility and its anti-settlement stability. Magnetorheological Damper is an active flexible device used for vibration reduction due to its efficient control ability in the on-off state. MR Damper produces large damping force by using low energy. The existing MR damper includes internal electromagnet in order to generate magnetic effect required for activation of MR fluid. This paper contains a review about Magnetorheological Fluid technology (i.e. preparation, properties, comparison with ER fluid), its use in a semi-active device like MR damper, its use limitations, various design approaches of MR damper and MR suspension application.