Modelling and simulation of electro- and magnetorheological fluid dampers

Electro- and magnetorheological fluids are smart, synthetic fluids changing their viscosity from liquid to semi-solid state within milliseconds if a sufficiently strong elective or magnetic field is applied. When used in suitable devices, they offer the innovative potential of very fast adaptively controllable interfaces between mechanical devices and electronic control units. This paper gives an overview on the basic properties of electro- and magnetorheological fluids and discusses various phenomenological models for whole devices and their applications. Numerical simulation results are presented for the passive suspension of a quarter vehicle model.