Study on a Dynamic Stiffness-tuning Absorber with Squeeze-strain Enhanced Magnetorheological Elastomer

This article presents the design and analysis of a novel dynamic stiffness tuning vibration absorber working with Magnetorheological elastomers (MRE). In this design, the MRE worked in a shear mode, but its MR effect was significantly enhanced by dynamically squeezing the sample thickness with an embedded piezoelectric (PZT) actuator. With this design, both the quasi-static magnetic field and the PZT driven dynamic squeeze strain in the direction of particles chain were properly adjusted to control the vibration of the primary system. The vibration suppression capabilities were theoretically analyzed by the harmonic analysis. A combined control strategy (the tuning strategy and the ON–OFF strategy) and the control system were developed to suppress the vibration of the primary system. The simulation results indicate that the proposed MRE-PZT-based dynamic stiffness-tuning dynamic vibration absorber (DSTDVA) exhibits more effective suppression capabilities than those conventional MRE-based quasi-static tuned vibration absorbers; the stronger the enhanced effect of squeeze strain on MRE’s shear storage modulus is, the more effective vibration suppression capabilities the proposed MRE-PZT-based DSTDVA has.