Temperature Dependent Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Magnetorheological Elastomers: Experiment and Modeling

Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are a group of new smart composite materials which are typically comprised of magnetic particles, non-magnetic matrix, and some additives. Their controllable mechanical properties are dependent on many factors, among which temperature is very important yet lack of understanding due to limited studies. In this paper, a series of experimental studies have been carried out to investigate the dynamic properties of MREs under different temperature and magnetic fields. The fractional Maxwell model and the generalized Maxwell model are used to describe the elastic and rheological properties of MRE samples, and then the goodness of fit between measured and predicted data is discussed based on the standard error ratio and the coefficient of determination. The experimental results show that temperature has an important influence on the dynamic modulus of MREs made from silicone rubber embedded with iron particles subjected to uniaxial compression. It is found that there is a transition behavior of MREs at about 50°C for dynamic modulus, i.e. below which the storage modulus of MRE is first decreases with the increasing of temperature up to 50°C and then increases with the temperature increased.