A Study on the Dynamic Characteristics of an ER Fluid Controlled Displacement Transmitter with Two Output Units

In this paper, a novel array-type dynamic displacement output transmitter utilizing the tunable viscoelastic property of the electrorheological fluid as a control valve mechanism is studied. The characteristics of this ER valve are modeled theoretically and its major design parameters are identified thereafter. In addition, by applying electric field upon the concentric electrodes of the ER valve, the controllability of the output displacement due to the change in the stiffness and damping properties of the ER fluid is investigated experimentally. It is found that the cross-talk between two output units is insignificant in this design setup and therefore, two units can be operated independently. Finally, the transient responses of the output fluid chamber under the pulse-type controlled electric field with different duty time and phase are measured. It is concluded that under the sinusoidal excitation of the displacement amplitude, the output chamber can have minimal response as the controlled electric field is at its highest permissible magnitude and zero phase lag.