Dynamic Characteristics of MR Fluid Short Squeeze Film Damper in Terms of Reynolds Number

Abstract

Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are suspensions of fine micron-sized particles suspended in an appropriate carrier medium. Their rheological properties can be controlled by the application of an appropriate magnetic field and can be used in a variety of applications where damping and stiffness characteristics need to be controlled at a particular excitation frequency, based on the requirements. This cannot be accomplished with conventional fluids and thus MR fluids find application in squeeze film dampers of aircraft jet engines to provide variable damping in accordance with the magnetic field, at a particular excitation frequency. Limited information is available on the stiffness and damping characteristics of magnetorheological fluid squeeze film dampers in the literature. This paper provides information on the stiffness and damping characteristics of MR fluids used as external damping medium in Squeeze film Dampers in terms of the Reynolds number of the squeeze film. The paper calibrates the stiffness and damping characteristics of particular magnetorheological fluid squeeze film damper theoretically in terms of Reynolds number of the squeeze film for two clearance and L/D ratios operating at low eccentricity ratios, using a constant field viscosity model. The stiffness and damping characteristics are found to decrease with the increase in Reynolds number. The Reynolds number of the squeeze film is very low, highlighting the fact that the flow in the film has ceased and has solidified in accordance with the literature. The dynamic coefficients are presented in the form of empirical equations based on the theoretical investigations for different clearance, L/D ratio and eccentricity ratio, in terms of Reynolds number of the damper and enables its easy evaluation for a particular damper configuration by a mere knowledge of the Reynolds number of the squeeze film. The results assist the designer in obtaining the stiffness and damping characteristics of the squeeze film damper, based on the Reynolds number. Alternatively, the stiffness and damping characteristics of the squeeze film damper are calibrated in terms of Reynolds number for particular damper configurations. However, the research focuses on the stiffness and damping coefficients for a limited number of damper configurations under a constant excitation frequency whilst a large number of clearances, L/D ratios and excitation frequencies have not been taken into account .This research is thus intended only to showcase the method of approach by selecting finite number of damper configurations. Future work should be focused towards investigations that present the empirical equations for the entire range of clearance, L/D ratio and eccentricity ratio.