Analysis and design of a cylindrical magneto-rheological uid brake

J. Huang
*
, J.Q. Zhang, Y. Yang, Y.Q. Wei
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Chongqing University, 400044 Chongqing, China
Abstract
A magneto-rheological (MR) uid brake is a device to transmit torque by the shear force of an MR uid. An MR rotary brake has the
property that its braking torque changes quickly in response to an external magnetic eld strength. In this paper, the design method of the
cylindrical MR uid brake is investigated theoretically. The equation of the torque transmitted by the MR uid within the brake is derived to
provide the theoretical foundation in the cylindrical design of the brake. Based on this equation, after mathematical manipulation, the
calculations of the volume, thickness and width of the annular MR uid within the cylindrical MR uids brake are yielded.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: MR uids; Brake; Design method
1. Introduction
Magneto-rheological (MR) uids consist of stable suspen-
sions of micro-sized, magnetizable particles dispersed in a
carrier medium such as silicon oil or water. When an external
magnetic eld is applied, the polarization induced in sus-
pended particles results in the MReffect of the MRuids. The
MReffect directly inuences the mechanical properties of the
MR uids. The suspended particles in the MR uids become
magnetized and align themselves, like chains, with the direc-
tion of the magnetic eld. The formulation of these particle
chains restricts the movement of the MR uids, thereby
increasing the yield stress of the uids. The change is rapid,
reversibleandcontrollablewiththemagneticeldstrength[1].
The mechanical properties of the MRuids can be used in the
construction of magnetically controlled devices such as the
MRuid rotary brake, or clutch [27]. To design the MRuid
brake for a givenspecication, one must establishthe relation-
ship between the torque developed by MR uids and the
parameters of the structure and the magnetic eld strength.
In this paper the fundamental design method of the
cylindrical MR brake is investigated theoretically. A Bing-
hammodel is used to characterize the constitutive behavior of
the MR uids subject to an external magnetic eld strength.
The theoretical method is developed to analyze the torque
transmitted by the MR uid within the brake. An engineering
expression for the torque is derived to provide the theoretical
foundation in the design of the brake. Based on this equation,
after algebraic manipulation, the volume and thickness of the
annular MR uid within the brake is yielded.
2. Operational principle
An MR uid brake is a device to transmit torque by the
shear stress of MR uid. A MR rotary brake has the property
that its braking torque changes quickly in response to an
external magnetic eld strength. The operational principle of
the cylindrical MR brake is shown in Fig. 1. The MR uid
lls the working gap between the xed outer cylinder and the
rotor. The rotor rotates at a rotational speed of o.
In the absence of an applied magnetic eld, the suspended
particles of the MR uid cannot restrict the relative motion
between the xed outer cylinder and the rotor. However, in
the course of operation, a magnetic ux path is formed when
electric current is put through the solenoidal coil. As a result,
the particles are gathered to formchain-like structures, in the
direction of the magnetic ux path. These chain-like struc-
tures restrict the motion of the MR uid, thereby increasing
the shear stress of the uid. The brake can be achieved by
utilizing the shear force of the MR uid. The braking torque
values can be adjusted continuously by changing the exter-
nal magnetic eld strength [8].
3. Properties of MR fluids
MR uids are suspensions of micron-sized, magnetizi-
able particles in a carrier uid. They mainly consist of the
Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559562
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jhuangcq@yahoo.com.cn (J. Huang).
0924-0136/02/$ see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 6 3 4 - 9
following three components: magnetizable particles, a
carrier uid, and some additives. The magnetizable parti-
cles in MR uids induce polarization upon the application
of an external magnetic eld, which results in the MR
effect of the MR uids. The carrier uid serves as a
dispersed medium and ensures the homogeneity particles
in the uid. The additives include stabilizers and surfac-
tants. The stabilizers serve to keep the particles suspended
in the uid, whilst the surfactants are adsorbed on the
surface of the magnetic particles to enhance the polariza-
tion induced in the suspended particles upon the applica-
tion of a magnetic eld.
In the absence of an applied magnetic eld, the particles in
MR uid disperse randomly in the carrier uid. MR uid
ows freely through the working gap between the xed outer
cylinder and the rotor. MR uid exhibits a Newtonian-like
behavior, where the shear stress of MR uids can be
described as
t Z_ g (1)
in which t is the shear stress, Z the viscosity of the MR uid
with no applied magnetic eld, and _ g the shear rate.
When the magnetic eld is applied, the behavior of the
controllable uid is often represented as a Bingham uid
having a variable yield strength. In this model, the consti-
tutive equation is derived by the least-squares method [1]:
t t
B
Z_ g (2)
where t
B
is the yield stress developed in response to the
applied magnetic eld. Its value is dependent upon the
magnetic induction eld B.
Fig. 2 shows the relationship obtained from experiment
between shear rate and shear stress, depending upon the
applied magnetic eld strength. As can be seen, the MR
uids have a variable yield strength, the shear stress increas-
ing with the applied magnetic eld strength. The shear rate
has little inuence on the shear stress. This result indicates
that the MR uid exhibits Bingham behavior.
4. Analysis of torque
The key question in the design of MR uid brake is to
establish the relationship between the torque and the para-
meters of the structure and the magnetic eld strength.
Fig. 3 shows the ow of the MR uid in the MR brake.
When the magnetic eld is applied, the braking torque T
developed by the MR uid can be calculated by
T 2pr
2
wt (3)
where w is the effective width of the MR effect developed by
the MR uid, and r the radius of the annular MR uid. The
shear stress t is proportional to the shear rate _ g as described
by Eq. (2). The shear rate _ g can be calculated by [9]
_ g r
do
r
dr
(4)
where o
r
is the rotational speed in the MR uid at radius r.
The differential of the rotational speed o
r
can be obtained by
Eqs. (2)(4) as follows:
do
r

1
Z
T
2pwr
3

t
B
r

dr (5)
Integrating Eq. (5) and applying the boundary conditions of
the MR uid brake: r r
1
at o
r
o, and r r
2
at o
r
0;
Fig. 1. The operational principle of the MR brake.
Fig. 2. Shear stress versus shear rate.
Fig. 3. The analysis of the torque.
560 J. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559562
the braking torque T developed by the MR uid can be
calculated, to yield
T
4pwt
B
r
2
1
r
2
2
lnr
2
=r
1

r
2
2
r
2
1

4pZwr
2
1
r
2
2
o
r
2
2
r
2
1
(6)
where r
1
and r
2
are the radius of the rotor and the outer
cylinder, respectively, and o is the rotational speed of the
rotor.
As shown in Fig. 3, the thickness h of the annular MRuid
between the rotor and outer cylinder can be given by
h r
2
r
1
(7)
If it is assumed that the thickness is much smaller than the
radius of the rotor (h=r
1
! 1), Eqs. (6) and (7) can be
manipulated mathematically to yield:
T 2pwt
B
r
2
1

2pZwr
3
1
o
h
(8)
Eq. (8) shows that the braking torque developed in the
cylindrical MR uid brake can be divided into a mag-
netic-eld-dependent induced yield stress component T
B
and a viscous component T
Z
:
T
B
2pwt
B
r
2
1
(9)
T
Z

2pZwr
3
1
o
h
(10)
The total torque T is the sum of T
B
and T
Z
, i.e.
T T
B
T
Z
(11)
5. Thickness and width of the MR fluid
The active volume of annular MR uid in the cylindrical
MR brake can be obtained through the integration of the
radius of the annular MR uid as follows:
V 2pw
Z
r
2
r
1
r dr (12)
Eq. (12) can be manipulated mathematically to yield
V 2pr
1
wh (13)
Eqs. (9)(13) can be further manipulated to yield
V
Z
t
2
B

T
B
T
Z

T
B
o (14)
Eq. (14) gives the minimum active MR uid volume that is
necessary within the brake in order to achieve the desired
control torque ratio (T
B
/T
Z
) at a given rotational speed o, and
the specied controllable torque T
B
.
Eqs. (9) and (10) can be manipulated algebraically to
derive the thickness of the annular MR uid as follows:
h
Z
t
B

T
B
T
Z

r
1
o (15)
Eq. (15) provides geometric constraints for the MR uid
brake based on the MR uid material properties (Z/t
B
), the
desired control torque ratio (T
B
/T
Z
) at a given rotational
speed o, and the radius r
1
of the rotor.
The effective width of the MR uid w can be obtained
from Eqs. (13) and (14).
6. Design example of cylindrical MR brake
6.1. Original data
In most brake applications, the maximum mechanical
power level P
m
and the maximum rotational speed of the
rotor o
m
will be specied. For this example, the following
parameters are given: P
m
500 Wand o
m
100 s
1
.
6.2. Desired control torque ratio
Based on the anticipated performance of the brake, and
the properties of the MR uid material when the magnetic
circuit is capable of magnetically saturating the MR uid,
the desired control torque ratio (T
B
/T
Z
) may be chosen. For
this example, the desired control torque ratio is chosen to be
T
B
T
Z
15
6.3. MR fluid material
In Eqs. (9) and (10), the parameters (Z=t
2
B
) and (Z=t
B
) have
a bearing on the MR uid material properties. In order to
reduce the dimensions of the brake, a designer should select
the highest yield stress developed in response to an applied
magnetic eld t
B
under the MRuid saturation magnetization
and the lowest viscosity of the MR uid Z possible. With this
knowledge, one can turn to an MR uid specication sheet
and choose appropriate uid parameters. For this example,
assume that the MR uid can be magnetically saturated, the
values of t
B
and Z are t
B
56 kPa and Z 0:33 Pa s.
6.4. MR fluids volume
The maximummechanical power level of the brake can be
calculated by
P
m
T
B
T
Z
o
m
T
B
1
T
Z
T
B

o
m
(16)
Now, the calculation of the MR uid volume V in the MR
uid brake can be calculated from Eqs. (13) and (16) as
V 0:74 10
6
m
3
.
6.5. Rotors radius
The minimum dimension of the radius of the rotor r
1
is
constrained to the inner structure dimensions of the brake.
For this example, r
1
is chosen as r
1
50 mm.
J. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 129 (2002) 559562 561
6.6. MR fluids thickness
The thickness h of annular MR uid can be calculated
from Eq. (14) as h 0:442 mm.
6.7. MR fluids effective width
The effective width w of the MR effect developed by the
MR uid can be calculated from Eq. (12) as w 5:33 mm.
7. Conclusions
The geometric design method of a cylindrical MR uid
brake is investigated theoretically in this paper. The braking
torque developed by the MR uid within the brake under
different magneticeldstrengthconditions has beenanalyzed.
The engineering design calculations of the volume, thickness
andwidthof the annular MRuidwithinthebrake are derived.
The parameters of the thickness and width of the uid in the
brake can be calculated fromthe equations obtained, when the
required mechanical power level, the rotational speed of the
rotor, and the desired control torque ratio are specied.
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