Coupled multi-physics field simulation research of magneto-rheological elastomeric magneto-shear mechanical properties based on COMSOL

Abstract

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are a new type of intelligent magnetically controlled material consisting of a polymer matrix and magnetic particles. The modulus of elasticity of MREs varies with the external magnetic field strength due to the electromagnetic stress between the internal magnetic particle. However, the weak magnetoenological effect of MREs limits their development. In order to improve the performance of the MREs, a two-dimensional model of MREs is developed based on the equivalent volume cell method, and the force-magnetic coupling analysis is carried out with COMSOL. In this paper, the effects of volume fraction, particle distribution, and magnetic field strength on the magnetostatic shear mechanical properties of MREs were investigated. The results show that: the stress distribution inside of MREs is mainly concentrated on the particles and the contact position between the particles and air. Increasing the magnetic field and the magnetic particle content can effectively improve the magneto-mechanical properties of MREs. Increasing the magnetic field from 0.5T to 1.7T, the magnetic shear modulus was increased by 8.81%. Increasing the particle volume fraction from 15% to 60%, the magnetic shear modulus was increased by 313.64%. Decreasing the particle distance in the chain contribute to the magneto-mechanical properties enhancement.

Investigation of Macroscopic Mechanical Behavior of Magnetorheological Elastomers under Shear Deformation Using Microscale Representative Volume Element Approach

“…where D 2 z (V) is the variance of the volume V, and A is the integral range. To determine the RVE parameters, the number of realizations n and the absolute error ε abs were used to express D 2 z (V) as follows [26]:…”

“…Kiarie et al [25] adopted a 2D RVE approach using COMSOL to predict the magnetic field-induced strain in MREs, and they employed the Mooney-Rivlin nonlinear material model for the host rubber; however, their problem did not include any mechanical load or displacement imposed on the RVE. Li et al [26] studied the magnetic field-induced shear behavior of MREs using a 2D RVE approach in COMSOL for both isotropic and anisotropic MREs; however, they assumed the magnetic particles (hydroxy iron powder) to have a very high relative permeability of 5000, and the silicone rubber behavior to be like a linear elastic matrix.…”