Two-way controllable magnetorheological elastomer mount for shock and vibration mitigation

Current passive elastomeric mounts are designed to provide mitigation for a given shock and vibration exposure and are not capable of supporting variable payload systems, due to variation in the overall system dynamics. A novel magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) mount that can reduce or increase its stiffness based on payload and shock and vibration input is designed, fabricated, and tested to provide a wide controllable stiffness range for protecting sensitive systems that may require variable weight from external shock and vibration loading. A MRE is a field-controllable material in which the stiffness properties can be altered by changing the applied magnetic field. The two-way controllable MRE mount is designed by using three-dimensional electromagnetic finite element analysis. MRE mounts were developed by using relatively thick MRE layers and built-in electromagnets and permanent magnets. A two-layer MRE mount prototype is characterized by compression and shear tests. Control system hardware and software were developed to detect shock and vibration events, and activate the two-way controllable MRE mount, accordingly. The MRE mount and the control system were tested with variable representative weights. It was demonstrated that the designed control system can detect whether the incoming input is a shock event or a vibration event. The MRE mount demonstrated the ability to soften of stiffen based on the incoming input. (paper)