Design and performance of an electrorheological grease (ERG) shock absorber

The use of an electro-rheological fluid (ERF) in some applications may requ ire a high damping capacity. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a prototype damper using an electro-rheological grease (ERG) with high z ero electric field viscosity. In designing the ERG damper several issues su ch as: a) maintaining a constant internal damper volume, b) minimizing the fluid shear in flow paths (other than in the electrode gap region) which re duces adverse effects on damper performance and, c) allowing the adjustment of the electrode gaps, are considered. Comparisons are made between the pe rformance of the ERG and an existing ERF. The ERG demonstrates higher dampi ng capacities at low frequencies than those of the ERF.