Experimental Study and Mathematical Modeling of Magnetorheological Elastomers Considering Molecular Chain Network and Temperature Influence

In this paper, anisotropic magnetorheological (MR) elastomers have been prepared using a magneto-thermal coupling process. The composition of these elastomers includes a silicone rubber matrix, carbonyl iron particles (CIP), and assorted additives. We have conducted experimental and modeling studies to analyze the dynamic mechanical properties of MREs under varying conditions of temperatures, magnetic field strengths, displacement amplitudes, and frequencies. Furthermore, to explore the variations in shear storage modulus and loss factor under diverse loading conditions, two MRE vibration mitigation devices with varying CIP weight fractions have been prepared and tested in shear mode. The findings indicate that the MRE devices exhibit pronounced temperature-dependent and magnetorheological effects. Notably, both the shear storage modulus and loss factor increase with rising magnetic field strength, excitation frequency, and CIP weight fraction, whereas they decrease as ambient temperature and displacement amplitude rise. Building on these results, a modified fractional order derivative microstructure (MFMS) model which integrates the molecular chain network of MREs with the temperature–frequency equivalence principle has been proposed to predict and characterize the dynamic viscoelastic properties of MREs under various working conditions. A comparative analysis of experimental and model-calculated data confirms that the proposed model accurately describes the dynamic viscoelastic properties of MREs.