What is Magnetorheological Fluid?
Magnetorheological fluid or MR fluid is a special material used for building smart structures that can withstand earthquakes. The Magnetorheological fluid can change from liquid to solid and vice versa. It makes the buildings of which it is a component particularly flexible so they can adapt to external force that would have made other more rigid buildings snap.
A magnetorheological fluid is a fascinating smart fluid with the ability to switch back and forth from a liquid to a near-solid under the influence of a magnetic field. It is usually used for applications in braking. The term “magnetorheological fluid” comes from a combination of magneto, meaning magnetic, and rheo, the prefix for the study of deformation of matter under applied stress. Magnetorheological fluids are not currently in wide use but are considered a futuristic type of material. The method of operation of a magnetorheological fluid is simple. A magnetorheological fluid is made up of micrometer-sized ferroparticles, particles like iron that respond to a magnetic field, suspended in an oil-based medium. When outside the influence of a magnetic field, the particles float freely, causing the material to behave like any colloidal mixture, such as milk. When a magnetic field is turned on, however, the ferroparticles align in vertical chains along the field’s flux lines, restricti
