• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.459-467
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• 2012

In this work, the configuration of a haptic gripper featuring magnetorheological(MR) brakes is proposed and an optimal design of the MR brakes for the haptic griper is performed considering the required braking torque, the uncontrollable torque(zero-field friction torque) and mass of the brakes. Several configurations of MR brake is proposed such as disc-type, serpentine-type and hybrid-type. After the configurations of the MR brakes are proposed, braking torque of the brakes is analyzed based on Bingham rheological model of the MR fluid. The zero-field friction torque of the MR brakes is also analyzed. An optimization procedure based on finite element analysis integrated with an optimization toolbox is developed for the MR brakes. The purpose of the optimal design is to find optimal geometric dimensions of the MR brake structure that can produce the required braking torque and minimize the mass of the MR brakes. In addition, the uncontrollable torque of the MR brakes is constrained to be much smaller than the required braking torque. Based on the developed optimization procedure, optimal solution of the proposed MR brakes are achieved and the best MR brake is determined. The working performance of the optimized MR brake is then investigated.