Preliminary investigation of magneto-rheological fluid durability in continuous slippage clutch

Magneto-rheological (MR) devices, such as dampers, engine mounts and clutches, are now appearing in the ground vehicle industry. Although important work has been directed to assess the longevity of MR dampers, few studies have targeted the aspect of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) durability when used in continuous shear, such as in MR clutches. The objective of this research is to identify the degradation phenomena associated with MRF used in continuous shear and to understand the main causes and effects, in order to propose design improvements to enhance clutch durability. Experiments are conducted on two test benches in order to reproduce MRF aging in a controlled environment and to evaluate the proposed solutions. The effect of the operating conditions (shear rate, shear stress and temperature) on the long term degradation of the torque-current relationship is evaluated. Two degradation phenomena are identified: base oil expansion and particle oxidation. The dominant failure mode of the tested clutches is a MRF leakage resulting from the base oil expansion which occurs between 1.5 MJ/mL and 9 MJ/mL of dissipated energy depending of the operating conditions. Two solutions are proposed to extend clutch durability: 1- MRF circulation and 2-compliant elements.