Development of a torsional dynamic absorber using a magnetorheological elastomer for vibration reduction of a powertrain test rig

This article presents the development of a torsional adaptive tunable vibration absorber using a magnetorheological elastomer for vibration reduction of a powertrain test rig. The magnetorheological elastomer used to develop the adaptive tunable vibration absorber consists of silicone polymer, silicone oil and magnetic particles with the weight percentages of 60%, 20% and 20%, respectively. Experimental testing is conducted to obtain the magnetorheological elastomer’s properties, such as Young’s modulus and the damping ratio, and effective formulas are derived to facilitate the design of the adaptive tunable vibration absorber. With the derived formulas, a magnetorheological elastomer–based adaptive tunable vibration absorber is designed and manufactured, and experimental testing is also conducted to validate the design. The results of experiments show that the magnetorheological elastomer–based adaptive tunable vibration absorber can work in a frequency range from 10.75 to 16.5 Hz (53% relative change). Both the designed and experimental results of the adaptive tunable vibration absorber’s frequencies are in good agreement. A powertrain model is used to validate the magnetorheological elastomer–based adaptive tunable vibration absorber’s effectiveness, and the numerical simulations show that the powertrain frequencies are shifted away from the resonant frequency; thus, the powertrain’s steady-state vibration can be significantly reduced. This magnetorheological elastomer–based adaptive tunable vibration absorber will be a promising new device for vibration reduction of vehicle powertrains.

[1]  G. Zhou,et al.  Shear properties of a magnetorheological elastomer , 2003 .

[2]  Nong Zhang,et al.  An adaptive tunable vibration absorber using a new magnetorheological elastomer for vehicular powertrain transient vibration reduction , 2010 .

[3]  J. Der Hagopian,et al.  Vehicle driveline dynamic behaviour experimentation and simulation , 1998 .

[4]  Tomi Lindroos,et al.  The elastic and damping properties of magnetorheological elastomers , 2006 .

[5]  Huaxia Deng,et al.  Development of an adaptive tuned vibration absorber with magnetorheological elastomer , 2006 .

[6]  Ashley R. Crowther,et al.  A Finite Element Method for the Dynamic Analysis of Automatic Transmission Gear Shifting with a Four-Degree-of-Freedom Planetary Gearset Element , 2003 .

[7]  J. Carlson,et al.  MR fluid, foam and elastomer devices , 2000 .

[8]  Kenneth A. Cunefare,et al.  Properties of a magnetorheological semi-active vibration absorber , 2003, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[9]  H. Du,et al.  A dynamic absorber with a soft magnetorheological elastomer for powertrain vibration suppression , 2009 .

[10]  Alexei R. Khokhlov,et al.  Effect of a homogeneous magnetic field on the mechanical behavior of soft magnetic elastomers under compression , 2006 .

[11]  Alexander V. Chertovich,et al.  New Composite Elastomers with Giant Magnetic Response , 2010 .

[12]  Kenneth A. Cunefare,et al.  Performance of MRE-based Vibration Absorbers , 2008 .

[13]  John Matthew Ginder,et al.  Magnetorheological elastomers in tunable vibration absorbers , 2001, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.