• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2020

The nonlinear dynamics of a directly forced clamped-clamped-free-free magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE) sandwich shell has been experimentally investigated. Experiments have been conducted on an aluminium shallow shell (shell A) and an MRE-aluminium sandwich shallow shell with single curvature (shell B). An electrodynamic shaker has been used to directly force shells A and B in the vicinity of their fundamental resonance frequency; a laser displacement sensor has been used to measure the vibration amplitude to construct the frequency-response curves. It was observed that for an aluminium shell (shell A), that at small forcing amplitudes, a weak softening-type nonlinear behaviour was observed, however, at higher forcing amplitudes the nonlinear dynamical behaviour shifted and a strong hardening-type response occurred. For the MRE shell (shell B), the effect of forcing amplitude showed softening at low magnetic fields and hardening for medium magnetic fields; it was also observed the mono-curved MRE sandwich shell changed dynamics to quasiperiodic displacement at some frequencies, from a periodic displacement. The presence of a magnetic field, initial curvature, and forcing amplitude has significant qualitative and quantitative effects on the nonlinear dynamical response of a mono curved MRE sandwich shell.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2014

Self vulcanizable blend system for magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) has been studied by dispersing magneto responsible particle (MRP) on elastomeric matrix. Chloroprene rubber was modified with maleic anhydride (MAH) using heat and pressure which is called dynamic maleation process. The optimum graft ratio of MAH was found at 10 phr contents and reaction temperature of $100^{\circ}C$. This could be confirmed by FT-IR analysis. Epoxided natural rubber (ENR) was blended with modified CR-g-MAH for self vulcanization. The optimum amounts of ENR was 30 wt% in terms of scorch time and curing rate. MRE was manufactured by electromagnetic equipment and orientation of MRE was confirmed by SEM. Finally, it was found that the tensile strength of anisotropic-MRE was higher than that of isotropic-MRE and the hardness was reverse.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.390-391
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• 2011

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1640-1649
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• 2021

Objective: Flattening in the anteroposterior direction (AP flattening) of the terminal ileum (TI) or sigmoid colon (SC) lying across the psoas muscle, on magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), might mimic bowel inflammation in the coronal view. This study investigated the prevalence of AP flattening and the factors associated with its development. Materials and Methods: A total of 364 surgery-naïve patients with Crohn's disease (CD) who had undergone MRE were retrospectively reviewed. AP flattening was defined as a luminal collapse in the anteroposterior direction, with a bowel width in the axial plane < 1/4 of the normal diameter without reduction of bowel width in coronal images. The prevalence of AP flattening of the TI and SC on MRE in patients with bowel segments lying across the psoas muscle was determined. We further compared the rate of AP flattening between MRE and computed tomography enterography (CTE) in a subcohort of patients with prior CTE. The factors associated with AP flattening were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression in a subcohort of patients with endoscopic findings of TI. Results: Three hundred and twenty-two and 363 patients, respectively, had TI and SC lying across the psoas muscle. The prevalence of AP flattening on MRE was 7.5% (24/322) in TI and 5.2% (19/363) in SC. The prevalences were significantly higher on MRE than on CTE in both the TI (7.3% [12/164] vs. 0.6% [1/164]; p = 0.003) and SC (5.8% [11/190] vs. 1.6% [3/190]; p = 0.039). AP flattening of the TI was independently and strongly associated with the absence of CD inflammation on endoscopy, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.066 (p = 0.003) for the presence versus the absence (reference) of inflammation. Conclusion: AP flattening of the TI or SC lying across the psoas muscle was uncommon and predominantly observed on MRE of the bowel without CD inflammation.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.274-278
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• 2020

This study investigates the possibility of reducing squeal noise generated at the contact point between an elastomer and glass by using the properties of a magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE) whose stiffness changes with the application of a magnetic field. Previously, squeal noise was mainly observed in the unstable section caused by the weakening of friction due to velocity. Previous studies have shown that squeal noise decreases as the stiffness increases. Accordingly, this study is conducted to control the unstable area of the friction curve and to reduce the noise by inducing the stiffness change of the MRE by applying a magnetic field. The friction, vibration, and noise characteristics are measured using a reciprocating friction tester. The frequency ranges of vibration and noise measured with the accelerometer and sound sensor show similar results. When a magnetic field is applied to the MRE, there is significantly lower noise compared with the case without the application of the magnetic field. The average coefficient of friction decreases with the application of the magnetic field. The maximum coefficient of friction increases rapidly at the turning point and decreases when the magnetic field is applied. This shows that the mechanical properties of the MRE change due to the magnetic field, and the noise and friction coefficient also decrease.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.755-770
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• 2009

This study proposes a new smart base isolation system that employs Magneto-Rheological Elastomers (MREs), a class of smart materials whose elastic modulus or stiffness can be varied depending on the magnitude of an applied magnetic field. It also evaluates the dynamic performance of the MRE-based isolation system in reducing vibrations in structures subject to various seismic excitations. As controllable stiffness elements, MREs can increase the dynamic control bandwidth of the isolation system, improving its vibration reduction capability. To study the effectiveness of the MRE-based isolation system, this paper compares its dynamic performance in reducing vibration responses of a base-isolated single-story structure (i.e., 2DOF) with that of a conventional base-isolation system. Moreover, two control algorithms (linear quadratic regulator (LQR)-based control and state-switched control) are considered for regulating the stiffness of MREs. The simulation results show that the MRE-based isolation system outperformed the conventional system in suppressing the maximum base drift, acceleration, and displacement of the structure.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.150-157
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• 2018

Fatigue properties of rubber are one of the most important characteristics in the rubber industry. In this study, the fatigue properties of MREs (magneto-rheological elastomers) based on NR (natural rubber), EPDM (ethylene-propylene diene monomer), and AEM (ethylene/acrylic elastomer) were investigated. For comparison, MREs with a Shore hardness of 60A were prepared. According to the relative results, the fatigue properties of EPDM MRE were the worst. Thus, we investigated methods to improve the fatigue properties of EPDM MRE by varying the carbon black content and curing systems of EPDM as the matrix of the MRE. Dynamic properties were measured using a fatigue tester and an RPA (rubber process analyzer), and the XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) was used to analyze the curing system of the EPDM matrix. According to the results, the Payne effect increased and the fatigue resistance decreased as the carbon black content increased. In case of the curing system, the CV (conventional vulcanization) system was superior to the EV (efficient vulcanization) system in terms of the fatigue resistance. This was because the number of flexible bonds in the case of the CV system was higher than that in the case of the EV system. However, the EV system showed excellent mechanical properties because it had many monosulfidic bonds with strong binding energy.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2015

This paper investigates the stick-slip characteristic of magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) between an aluminum plate and the surface of the MRE. MRE is a smart material and it can change its mechanical behavior with the interior iron particles under the influence of an applied magnetic field. Stick-slip is a movement of two surfaces relative to each other that proceeds as a series of jerks caused by alternate sticking from friction and sliding when the friction is overcome by an applied force. This special tribology phenomenon can lead to unnecessary wear, vibration, noise, and reduced service life of work piece. The stick-slip phenomenon is avoided as far as possible in the field of mechanical engineering. As this phenomenon is a function of material property, applied load, and velocity, it can be controlled using the characteristics of MRE. MRE as a soft smart material, whose mechanical properties such as modulus and stiffness can be changed via the strength of an external magnetic field, has been widely studied as a prospective replacement for general rubber in the mechanical domain. In this study, friction force is measured under different loads, speed, and magnetic field strength. From the test results, it is confirmed that the stick-slip phenomenon can be minimized under optimum conditions and can be applied in various mechanical components.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.943-966
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• 2016

Recently, magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) material and its devices have been developed and attracted a good deal of attention for their potentials in vibration control. Among them, a highly adaptive base isolator based on MRE was designed, fabricated and tested for real-time adaptive control of base isolated structures against a suite of earthquakes. To perfectly take advantage of this new device, an accurate and robust model should be built to characterize its nonlinearity and hysteresis for its application in structural control. This paper first proposes a novel hysteresis model, in which a nonlinear hyperbolic sine function spring is used to portray the strain stiffening phenomenon and a Voigt component is incorporated in parallel to describe the solid-material behaviours. Then the fruit fly optimization algorithm (FFOA) is employed for model parameter identification using testing data of shear force, displacement and velocity obtained from different loading conditions. The relationships between model parameters and applied current are also explored to obtain a current-dependent generalized model for the control application. Based on the proposed model of MRE base isolator, a second-order sliding mode controller is designed and applied to the device to provide a real-time feedback control of smart structures. The performance of the proposed technique is evaluated in simulation through utilizing a three-storey benchmark building model under four benchmark earthquake excitations. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed current-dependent model and corresponding controller for semi-active control of MRE base isolator incorporated smart structures.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.597-605
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• 2008

The feasibility study of a newly proposed smart base isolation system employing magneto-rheological elastomers(MREs) has been carried out. MREs belong to a class of smart materials whose elastic modulus or stiffness can be adjusted by varying the magnitude of the magnetic field. The base isolation systems are considered as one of the most effective devices for vibration mitigation of civil engineering structures such as bridges and buildings in the event of earthquakes. The proposed base isolation system strives to enhance the performance of the conventional base isolation system by improving the robustness of the system wide stiffness range controllable of MREs, which improves the adaptability and helps in better vibration control. To validate the effectiveness of the MRE-based isolation system, an extensive numerical simulation study has been performed using both single-story and five-story building structures employing base isolated devices under several historical earthquake excitations. The results show that the proposed system outperformed the conventional system in reducing the responses of the structure in all the seismic excitations considered in the study.