Influence of wall characteristics on transmittable torque of magnetorheological fluid

Magnetorheological fluid is a controllable fluid that exhibits changeable yield stress and attractive rheological properties on the applied magnetic field. In order to enhance the yield stress of magnetorheological fluid and suppress wall slip effect in the case of transmission, the mechanism and corresponding influence factors of the wall slip effect were investigated theoretically and experimentally. Different transmittable disks and a magnetorheological transmission test-bed were built, and the influence of wall characteristics on the transmission capacity of magnetorheological fluids was investigated on the test-bed. The results showed that the material types, surface roughness, and surface textures of transmission wall have distinct influence on the transmission capacity of magnetorheological fluid. The transmission wall with a groove depth of 0.2 mm, higher material magnetic permeability, higher surface roughness, radial grooves at the surface, and higher groove density was determined as the best transmission wall.