MRE properties under shear and squeeze modes and applications

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) belong to the group of so called smart materials. Due to an applied magnetic field the MREs change their material properties like the stiffness. This feature has resulted in a number of novel applications, such as adaptive tuned dynamic vibration absorbers (ATDVA) for suppressing unwanted vibrations over a wide frequency range. MRE based devices operate in different modes, such as shear mode and squeeze mode but the study of mechanical performances of MREs under squeeze mode is very rare. This paper aims to investigate MRE performances under both shear and squeeze modes. Both experimental and simulation studies were conducted to analyze the MR effect in both modes. These studies indicate that MRE working in squeeze mode would result in higher MR effects. As a case study, a MRE based ATDVA was analyzed, which demonstrated good capabilities in reducing vibrations.