Unexpected shear strength change in magnetorheological fluids

Smart materials of magnetorheological (MR) fluids could be turned from a liquid state into a solid state, which solidification extent or shear strength often increases monotonically with the applied magnetic field. In this study, the shear stress of a dilute MR fluid decreased with increasing applied magnetic field at a constant shear rate. The dynamic shear stress was significantly higher than the stable counterpart at medium magnetic fields. They are ascribed to the slow particle structure transformation. A higher shear rate and particle volume fraction could reduce the transient time and the shear strength difference.