Design and performance evaluation of a novel magnetorheological valve with a tunable resistance gap

Abstract

This paper outlines the design and development of a novel magnetorheological (MR) valve with a tunable resistance gap that varies from 1 mm to 2 mm by rotating a valve spool. The finite element modelling and analysis of this proposed MR valve was carried out using ANSYS/Emag software, including achieving the optimal magnetic field distribution and magnetic flux density. A mathematical model of the pressure drop in the MR valve was built to study the pressure drop mechanism while considering the conical annular resistance gap. Moreover, this proposed MR valve with a tunable resistance gap was prototyped and evaluated experimentally, showing that the MR valve has significantly improved its efficiency.