Performance of magnetorheological elastomer based torsional vibration isolation system for dynamic loading conditions

Vibration isolation is an effective method to mitigate unwanted disturbances arising from dynamic loading conditions. With smart materials as suitable substitutes, the conventional passive isolators have attained attributes of semi-active as well as the active control system. In the present study, the non-homogenous field-dependent isolation capabilities of the magnetorheological elastomer are explored under torsional vibrations. Torsional natural frequency was measured using the serial arrangement of accelerometers. Novel methods are introduced to evaluate the torsional stiffness variations of the isolator for a semi-definite and a motor-coupled rotor system. For the semi-definite system, the isolation effect was studied using the frequency response functions from the modal analysis. The speed-dependent variations for motor-coupled rotor system were assessed using the shift in frequency amplitudes from torque transducers. Finite element method magnetics was used to study the variations in the non-homogenous magnetic field across the elastomer. The response functions for the semi-definite rotor system reveal a shift in the frequency in the effect of the magnetic field. Speed-dependent variations in the frequency domain indicate an increment of 9% in the resonant frequency of the system.