CONTROL OF FORCED VIBRATION USING MULTIELECTRODE ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUID DAMPERS

Vibration control of cylindrical, electro-rheological fluid (ERF) damp ers were studied Single- as well as multi-electrode cylindrical ERF da mpers were designed, built and tested under a forced vibration motion. Closed-loop, on-line control systems utilizing bang-bang and linear p roportional controller were implemented to control the damping capacit y of the ERF dampers. In addition, the designs were modified to reduce the required activation voltage. These modifications include increasi ng the electrode surface area as well as the number of electrodes. The damping ability of the dampers was further enhanced by using two iden tical dampers in series connection.