Numerical and experimental study on temperature characteristics of a disc-type magnetorheological brake with multipole design

The heat generated by magnetorheological (MR) brakes will affect the performance of MR fluid. In this paper, the temperature characteristics of a proposed multipole disc-type MR fluid brake has been investigated. Firstly, the structure description, material selection, and operating principle of the multipole disc-type MR brake are conducted. Then, a finite element model of the multipole disc-type MR brake is established, and the temperature characteristics of the brake are simulated and analyzed by coupling magnetic field and temperature field. Further simulation analysis is conducted on the temperature effect of the MR brake under the normal braking, emergency braking, and intermittent braking. Finally, several temperature experiments have been carried out based on the established experimental platform. The research results indicate that the brake can perform long-term braking at a low slip power under natural heat dissipation. The magnitude of the slip speed has a great impact on the temperature rise of the brake. Magnetic-temperature coupling analysis can obtain more accurate temperature distribution, which could provide guidance for the selection of heat dissipation methods and the design of cooling channels under high-power and large-slip MR transmission.