Predictions Based on Electric Fluid Method of Dynamic Responses of Pressurizing Devices Drived by Electro Rheological Fluid

This paper describes a technique based on the electric fluid analogy to predict dynamic responses of pressurizing devices drived by Electro Rheological (ER) fluid. In the electric fluid analogy, flow response is modeled by an electric circuit by the analogy of basic transient equations between flow and electric circuit. This study consitutes a model of the flow inside electrode annuli of the pressuring device. The parameters of resistance and additional electric sources in the model are derived by assuming that the flow can be approximated by Bingham flow. The inertance is derived from a physical consideration of fluid inertia. Because the capacitance is greatly influenced by the amount of tiny air voids in the ER fluid, the capacitance is estimated from the result of a simple experiment. The prediction results of the transient responses of the electrodes show rather well agreement with experimental data.