Study on the Effect of Polyurethane-Based Magnetorheological Foam Damper on Cutting Performance during Hard Turning Process

In the metal cutting process, a magnetorheological fluid damper was used to suppress tool vibration and to enhance cutting performance. However, as the machining progresses, the performance of magnetorheological fluid was affected by sedimentation and agglomeration factors, which resulted in a minimum reduction in the magnitude of vibration. For achieving vibration control during the machining process, it is required to use an appropriate damping technique that increases stability and enhances performance indexes. In this paper, a magnetorheological foam damper was developed where polyurethane foam was used to suppress tool vibration during the machining process. Iron particles along with carrier fluid were filled inside the pores of the foam and when the electric current is applied to the foam, particle chains form and it changes its stiffness, which behaves as a viscoelastic material with nonlinear vibration features. Cutting experiments were conducted, and based on the results, it is observed that the vibration during machining was suppressed and cutting performance was enhanced as a result of using this magnetorheological foam. Also, the stability of the magnetorheological material was improved without any settlement of iron particles.