Study of additive in electrorheological fluid

This thesis studies the influences of a variety of additives such as glycerol monostearate(T1), pentaerythritol (T2) and glycerol(T3) on the shear stress of electrorheological fluid(ER fluid) made by dispersing 3% (mass percent) additive and polyaniline particles coated by agar in silicone oil. The result shows that suitable additive improves the performance of ER fluid. When the electric field was strengthened to 4 kV/mm under the same low shear rate, the shear stress of the ER fluid without additive was 800 Pa, while the shear stress of the ER fluid with T1 was 2300 Pa, 1120 Pa with T2 and 4500 Pa with T3. The result also demonstrates that T1 contributes to a considerable increase in the stability of ER fluid. It is concluded that there will be a significant improvement in the property of ER fluid by dispersing appropriate type and amount of additive to a certain ER fluid.