Design and prediction simulation of an active-dispersing mechanism for magnetorheological damper with twin-tube configuration

Sedimentation immunity is one of the key features of magnetorheological (MR) dampers, which means the lifetime-long service without degradation under the sedimentation of MR fluid. In this paper, an active-dispersing mechanism is established with twin-tube configuration toward the sedimentation immunity, by adding a circulation channel powered by rotating blades between the tubes when the MR damper is not in operation. Finite element (FE) method is employed to reveal the re-dispersion process once the MR fluid settled to a specific degree, and the benefits of circulating channel and twin-tube sedimentation-immunity system for the MR fluid are discovered by the simulation. Ultimately, a self-adaptive system could be built to ensure the MR fluid in the damper keeping in a relative uniform and thus the sedimentation immunity is fulfilled.