Conductivity effects in electric-field-induced electrorheological solid

We have extended Rayleigh identity based on a multipole expansion theory to deal with the conductivity effects in electric-field-induced electrorheolo gical solid within a Maxwell-Wagner approach. Evaluation of the effective d ielectric constant is emphasized and shear modulus for chains of particles arrayed on a body-centred tetragonal (BCT) lattice is calculated, It is fou nd that for high frequency applied electric fields, the forces and then the modulus depend upon the dielectric constants of the suspending fluid and t he dispersed particles, for low-frequency or de electric fields, the conduc tivities of the components are dominant. Implications for the design of ER fluids are discussed briefly. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved.