Influence of Oleic and Lauric Acid on the Stability of Magnetorheological Fluids

In this paper, magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) based on micro-sized iron particles dispersed in silicone oil are presented. The iron particles are modified by adding different ratios of oleic acid and lauric acid as surfactants to the suspensions. Lauric acid was found to reduce the stability of the MRFs, and more lauric acid results in a higher rate of sedimentation. Further study showed that the formation and structure of lauric acid may result in the sedimentation of micrometer-sized particles. Meanwhile, the electro-resistance of MRF in this paper shows a decrease from beyond 6000 M to 190 with an increase in the external field from 0 mT to 400 mT.