Chapters authored
Magnetorheological Elastomers: Materials and Applications
Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are a type of soft magneto-active rubber-like material, whose physical or mechanical properties can be altered upon the application of a magnetic field. In general, MREs can be prepared by mixing micron-sized magnetic particles into nonmagnetic rubber-like matrices. In this chapter, the materials, the preparing methods, the analytical models, and the applications of MREs are reviewed. First, different kinds of magnetic particles and rubber-like matrices used to prepare MREs, as well as the preparing methods, will be introduced. Second, some examples of the microstructures, as well as the microstructure-based analytical models, of MREs will be shown. Moreover, the magnetic field-induced changes of the macroscopic physical or mechanical properties of MREs will be experimentally given. Third, the applications of MREs in engineering fields will be introduced and the promising applications of MREs will be forecasted. This chapter aims to bring the reader a first-meeting introduction for quickly knowing about MREs, instead of a very deep understanding of MREs.
Part of the book: Smart and Functional Soft Materials