Parameter optimization in designing an MR mount

Magnetorheological (MR) mounts have been developed with MR fluid instead of regular hydraulic oil to make the mounts controllable. Constructed similarly to a hydraulic mount, an MR mount's responses heavily depend on the mount parameters. In order for the MR mount to meet the requirements of a specific application such as automotive engine mount, the mount parameter optimization has to be considered during designing phase. This process includes identifying how the parameter's changes affect the characteristics of the mount. The target application defines the type of vibration, desired range of frequency and excitation amplitude. This study has focused on investigating the magnetically related parameters. The research considers a model of MR mount which utilizes flow mode and squeeze mode. The mount parameters are the size and location of the coil, the geometry of the flow channel, the size of the squeezing gap and the effective radius of the squeezing plates. The hydraulic related parameters are selected first to fit the application and remain constant during the optimization process. The paper presents the process of designing the MR mount with optimized parameters for automotive engine mount application.