Magnetorheological fluid

Schematic of a magnetorheological fluid solidifying and blocking a pipe in response to an external magnetic field. (Animated version available.)

A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid, or MRF) is a type of smart fluid in a carrier fluid, usually a type of oil. When subjected to a magnetic field, the fluid greatly increases its apparent viscosity, to the point of becoming a viscoelastic solid.[1] Importantly, the yield stress of the fluid when in its active ("on") state can be controlled very accurately by varying the magnetic field intensity. The upshot is that the fluid's ability to transmit force can be controlled with an electromagnet, which gives rise to its many possible control-based applications.

MR fluid is different from a ferrofluid which has smaller particles. MR fluid particles are primarily on the micrometre-scale and are too dense for Brownian motion to keep them suspended (in the lower density carrier fluid). Ferrofluid particles are primarily nanoparticles that are suspended by Brownian motion and generally will not settle under normal conditions. As a result, these two fluids have very different applications.

  1. ^ Bahl, Shashi; Nagar, Himanshu; Singh, Inderpreet; Sehgal, Shankar (2020-01-01). "Smart materials types, properties and applications: A review". Materials Today: Proceedings. International Conference on Aspects of Materials Science and Engineering. 28: 1302–1306. doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2020.04.505. ISSN 2214-7853. S2CID 219435304.

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