• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2020

In this study, a PDMS-based low-elasticity magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) was fabricated and the Taguchi method was used to identify the factors affecting the elastic modulus. The mixing entropy was calculated using optical microscopy to confirm particle dispersion, which was referenced in the process establishment. In the MRE process, four parameters, namely the curing agent, particle type, particle fraction, and applied magnetic field, were divided into three levels. The elastic modulus of the specimen was compared at the off-state and at 0.2 T using compression tests, and the obtained signal to noise ratio indicated that the softness and change in the elastic modulus of the MRE was mainly affected by the curing agent and the particle fraction.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.37-52
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• 2019

Despite its success and wide application, base isolation system has been challenged for its passive nature, i.e., incapable of working with versatile external loadings. This is particularly exaggerated during near-source earthquakes and earthquakes with dominate low-frequency components. To address this issue, many efforts have been explored, including active base isolation system and hybrid base isolation system (with added controllable damping). Active base isolation system requires extra energy input which is not economical and the power supply may not be available during earthquakes. Although with tunable energy dissipation ability, hybrid base isolation systems are not able to alter its fundamental natural frequency to cope with varying external loadings. This paper reports an overview of new adventure with aim to develop adaptive base isolation system with controllable stiffness (thus adaptive natural frequency). With assistance of the feedback control system and the use of smart material technology, the proposed smart base isolation system is able to realize real-time decoupling of external loading and hence provides effective seismic protection against different types of earthquakes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.207-208
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• 2009

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1077-1099
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• 2016

One of the main shortcomings in the current passive base isolation system is lack of adaptability. The recent research and development of a novel adaptive seismic isolator based on magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) material has created an opportunity to add adaptability to base isolation systems for civil structures. The new MRE based base isolator is able to significantly alter its shear modulus or lateral stiffness with the applied magnetic field or electric current, which makes it a competitive candidate to develop an adaptive base isolation system. This paper aims at exploring suitable control algorithms for such adaptive base isolation system by developing a close-loop semi-active control system for a building structure equipped with MRE base isolators. The MRE base isolator is simulated by a numerical model derived from experimental characterization based on the Bouc-Wen Model, which is able to describe the force-displacement response of the device accurately. The parameters of Bouc-Wen Model such as the stiffness and the damping coefficients are described as functions of the applied current. The state-space model is built by analyzing the dynamic property of the structure embedded with MRE base isolators. A Lyapunov-based controller is designed to adaptively vary the current applied to MRE base isolator to suppress the quake-induced vibrations. The proposed control method is applied to a widely used benchmark base-isolated structure by numerical simulation. The performance of the adaptive base isolation system was evaluated through comparison with optimal passive base isolation system and a passive base isolation system with optimized base shear. It is concluded that the adaptive base isolation system with proposed Lyapunov-based semi-active control surpasses the performance of other two passive systems in protecting the civil structures under seismic events.

• 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.

• 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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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1137-1141
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• 2007

This paper is concerned with the experimental research of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs). The modulus of the MR elastomers can be controlled by an applied magnet field, so that it can be effectively used for vibration suppression applications. The MR elastomer in this experiment is a mixture of KE-1300 silicone, carbonyl iron powder (300mesh) and a silicone hardener (CAT-1300). Three specimens were manufactured and tested by using the vibration testing instruments. The magnetic field was generated by the permanent magnets. The experimental results show that the natural frequencies of the test article with MR elastomer changes by the applied magnetic field. The performance of the MR elastomer can be increased by stronger magnetic fields. This is under investigation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.714-719
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• 2011

This paper presents vibration characteristics of magnetorheological(MR) elastomer, whose elastic modulus are controllable by applied magnetic field. By using this property, the material can be applied to vibration absorber, so that the stiffness of the absorber can be changed and actively controlled according to the magnetic flux density. However, the various performances of MR elastomer depends on different polarized direction of particles by applied magnetic field and dimension during the manufacturing process. In this paper, in order to obtain the optimal characteristics of MR elastomer, MR elastomers with different types and dimensions are prepared for a series tests. Using this test setup, extent of natural frequency shifted against magnetic field at various excitation frequencies can be measured. Specimens are prepared with 3 types, as cylinder samples exposed to magnetic field vertically, horizontally and unexposed during cure, respectively. Also, a set of design variables are considered to produce MR elastomers. Through the modal tests of mass structure with MR elastomer, the optimal design as well as the polarization direction of MR elastomer is obtained among the various dimensions and 3 directional types of MR elastomers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.752-757
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• 2011

This paper presents vibration characteristics of magnetorheological (MR) elastomer, whose elastic modulus are controllable by an applied magnetic field. By using this property, the material can be applied to vibration absorber, so that the stiffness of the absorber can be changed and actively controlled according to the magnetic flux density. However, the various performances of MR elastomer depends on different magnetically polarization direction and dimension during the manufacturing process. In this paper, in order to obtain the optimal characteristics of MR elastomer, MR elastomers with different types and dimensions are prepared for a series tests. Using this test setup, extent of natural frequency shifted against magnetic field at various excitation frequencies can be measured. Specimens prepared with 3 types which are exposed to magnetic field vertically, horizontally and unexposed during cure. Also, a set of design variables are considered to produce MR elastomers. Through the modal tests of mass structure with MR elastomer, the optimal design as well as the polarization direction of MR elastomer is obtained among the various dimensions and 3 directional types of MR elastomers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2012.04a
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• pp.940-941
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• 2012