A novel approach to characterize the magnetic field and frequency dependent dynamic properties of magnetorheological elastomer for torsional loading conditions

•Novel methodology was developed to assess the torsional shear properties of MRE.•The blocked transfer method was developed as per ISO 10846.•Effect of field and frequency was assessed on the torsional stiffness.•ANSYS 19.1 was used to interpret the field induced variations. Magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) are potential resilient elements to improve the operating frequency range of a vibration isolator. The field-dependent characterization of MRE properties for varying input frequencies under lateral shear conditions has been well researched in past studies. In the present study, a novel approach to assess the magnetic field dependent rheological properties of magnetorheological elastomers under dynamic torsional loading is presented. Field and frequency-dependent properties are estimated from the dynamic blocked transfer stiffness method specified by ISO 10846. Viscoelastic properties represented in-terms of complex torsional stiffness and loss factor are estimated from the Lissajous curves within the linear viscoelastic (LVE) limit. Experiments are performed at a frequency range of 10 Hz–30 Hz under a constant input angular displacement. Magnetic field sensitive characteristics of MRE are evaluated under the field produced by a custom-made electromagnet. The results reveal a strong influence of field dependent variations on the complex stiffness in comparison with the input frequency. Variations observed in the loss factor suggests a dominance of the imaginary part of the complex stiffness on the energy dissipation. The reduced field induced enhancements in the complex stiffness are interpreted from the Magneto-static and structural based numerical simulations using ANSYS 19.1.