Analytical research of damping efficiency and heat generation of magnetorheological damper

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are currently used in various areas, such as: human prosthetics, seismic protection, active suspensions, safety systems, amongst other. This paper deals with the proper design of a MR damper in the innovative field for vibration control. A methodology for calculation some principal characteristics of the damper such as: electromagnet's magnetic field value, emitted heat and damping force is presented. The methodology is based on analytic calculations of the characteristics and finite element method analysis. The obtained theoretical results were confirmed by performed experimental tests, thanks to a specially designed and realised MR damper. Two main geometrical characteristics of the damper, namely: piston thickness and electromagnet width were optimally chosen, thus allowing to reach maximum damping force.