Numerical Investigation of the Effects of MR Damper Characteristic Parameters on Vibration Isolation of SDOF Systems Under Harmonic Excitations

Magnetorheological (MR) damper has recently received considerable attention particularly for vibration isolation applications. However, the relationship between the current and damping force of MR dampers is extremely non-linear. Although it is possible to directly control the current of MR dampers to reduce the vibration of a system, this direct use of MR dampers often cannot achieve a desired system performance. As a result, researchers normally develop a feedback control system to accommodate the non-linearity associated with MR dampers. This technique, however, results in a significant increase in the system cost and complexity. This article applies the concept of the output frequency response function derived recently by the authors to analyze the effects of the damping characteristic parameters and current in an MR damper on the output frequency response of single-degree-of-freedom vibrating system. The results gained from this work are of great significance as they can facilitate the analysis of the effects of MR damper characteristic parameters on output response of the system and potentially allow engineers to directly control the current of a commercially available MR damper to achieve a desired system response without the need to develop a feedback control system, thereby reducing the system cost and complexity.