DEVELOPMENT OF A ROTARY SEALING COMPONENT FEATURING MR FLUID AND PERMANENT MAGNET

In this research work, a self-sealing component for rotary shaft of Magneto-rheological (MR) fluid based devices such as MR brakes and MR clutches is designed and tested by both simulation and experiment. The sealing component is composed of a permanent magnet and a magnetic core placed on a rotary shaft to replace a traditional lip-seal. After an overview of MR fluid and its applications as well as researches on sealing components based on MR fluid, a configuration of a self-sealing component for rotary shaft of a MR fluid based device is proposed. Afterwards, the design and modeling of the sealing component is then conducted based on Bingham plastic rheological model of the MR fluid and finite element analysis. Based on finite element analysis, optimal design of the sealing component is obtained. Prototypes of the sealing component are then manufactured and experimental works are then conducted. Base on experimental results, performance characteristics of the sealing component are investigated and compared with simulated results.