A Micromechanical Model for Magnetorheological Fluids

The rheological and mechanical performances of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid depend on the induced solid microstructure under an applied field. In this study, the interaction between particles is analyzed, based on the microstructure with the applied field, and a micromechanical model is proposed to describe the constitutive behavior of MR fluids by making use of static magnetics. It can take into account the effects of the intensity of the applied magnetic field, the particle size and particle volume fraction, the magnetic property of the particle, and the viscosity of the carrier fluid, on the mechanical properties of MR fluids. The yield shear stress is analyzed and calculated based on the theory of magnetics and statistical analysis. The satisfactory agreement between the analytical and the experimental results demonstrates the validity of the proposed model in describing and optimizing the properties of MR fluids.