Design and simulation of a novel magnetorheological energy absorber with stroke-related damping control for artillery

In shock mitigation, the magnetorheological energy absorber (MREA) should be avoided to be over excited because the viscous force generated with the motion is too high. A novel MREA with stroke-related magnetic circuits is proposed in this paper, which is designed to employ a dynamic stroke-related magnetic field distribution to absorb more energy while protecting the damper from being damaged by excessive stress. By simultaneously examining the motions of mechanical parts and the control circuit of the adaptive flow and magnetic design, an ideal variable magnetic distribution with four solenoid coils is obtained through magneto-flow coupled simulation. Through the coupled excitation method of stroke and circuit, the damping force output at a low speed in the later stage of the impact is significantly increased. As a result, more resistance is provided during the stroke, and more energy is absorbed. The output damping force of MREA reaches its maximum of 5.5 kN, which decreases by 15% compared with the traditional method, and the absorbing energy increases by 37%. With this design, the penetrating force peak can be smoothed to decrease the demand of the structural strength, and this paper provides a theoretical support for the experimental validation of a high-performance MREA.