Sensing behavior of magnetorheological elastomers

The focus of this study is on the sensing behavior of magneto-rheological elastomers (MREs) by experimentally characterizing their dielectric properties. An experimental setup which can detect the impedance changes of the MRE under compressive normal forces and deformations is developed. MRE samples with varying particle loadings are prepared and tested by using this setup. Experimental results show that the MREs have lower impedance and have more stress value by increasing magnetic field on the activation area. The values of the impedance of all MRE samples decrease with increasing compressive force on MRE.; This study is believed to be the first to investigate the dielectric properties of the MRE under combination effects of deformations and applied magnetic fields using Impedance Spectroscopy Technique. It is found that the resistance and impedance of MRE can be changed not only by an applied mechanical force, but also by an applied magnetic field. These findings reveal that MREs are potentially capable of being used for tunable vibration absorbers and sensing force and displacement.