An electro-mechanical coupling model of magnetorheological damper

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are a class of semi-active control devices with field-dependent property. To achieve the desirable performance of the controlled system with damper, the fundamental issue is to establish a proper model. In this paper, a novel modeling idea considering the damper and control device as one system is put forward. Based on this idea, a mathematical representation for characterizing an electro-mechanical coupling model of MR damper is presented, where the rate-dependent hysteretic relation of the damping forces vs. velocity and electromagnetic hysteresis is well demonstrated. Then a simulation model, SIMULINK, is set up. Comparison between the predicted and the experimental results indicates that the model is satisfactory for reproducing the dynamic behaviors of MR damper.