A FEMs Magnetic-Thermal Study for a MR Automotive Damper

In recent years, the automotive industry has come closer and closer to the production of magnetorheological fluid (MR) dampers as they are quite simple to design and require little maintenance. Being powered by stationary electric current I, they develop stationary B associated with thermal loads which are also stationary and constant yield stress. Hence, in this work, an asymmetric MR damper was investigated using FEM analysis by performing a magnetostatic analysis of the MR fluid strip (Lord MRF-132AD fluid) present in the device. Furthermore, since the damper is subject to heating, a thermostatic analysis was also carried out at different external temperatures to simulate the different environmental conditions in which the damper operates. Both analyzes highlighted the parts of the damper most subject to both magnetic and thermal stress, highlighting the influence of temperature both on the magnetization of the particles and, globally, on the MR fluid.