A characterization of the magnetically induced movement of NdFeB-particles in magnetorheological elastomers

Magnetorheological elastomers are a type of smart hybrid material where elastic properties of a soft elastomer matrix are combined with magnetic properties of magnetic micro particles. This combination leads to a complex interplay of magnetic and elastic phenomena, of which the magnetorheological effect is the best described. In this paper, magnetically hard NdFeB-particles were used to obtain remanent magnetic properties. X-ray microtomography has been utilized to analyze the particle movement induced by magnetic fields. A particle tracking was performed; thus, it was possible to characterize the movement of individual particles. Beyond that, a comprehensive analysis of the orientation of all particles was performed at different states of magnetization and global particle arrangements. For the first time this method was successfully applied to a magnetorheological material with a technically relevant amount of magnetic NdFeB-particles. A significant impact of the magnetic field on the rotation and translation of the particles was shown.