EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FULL-SCALE MAGNETORHEOLOGICAL FLUID DAMPER PERFORMANCE

Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) damper is a new kind of smart damper and an ideal device for semi-active vibration control. A full-scale MRF damper, which is used for civil infrastructure vibration control, is designed and manufactured. The maximal damping force of the damper is about 180kN. The damping force of the MRF damper is tested. Experimental results show that for the damper with more than one magnet-exciting coils, the damping force is much higher than that of the unidirectional case when adjacent coil's electrical current direction is alternate. In addition, the maximal damping forces when several magnet-exciting coils work simultaneously is much lower than the superposition of maximal damping forces when each coil works independently. And the more coils, the greater reduction of the force.