The extremely severe heating of magnetorheological (MR) brakes restricts their application in high-power situations. This study aims to develop a novel MR brake with a high-torque capacity. To achieve this goal, a water cooling method is adopted to assist in heat dissipation. In the study, a structural model design of the high-torque MR brake is first developed according to the transmission properties of the MR fluid between the rotating plates. Then, the operating principle of the MR brake is illustrated, which is followed by a detailed design of the water channel. Moreover, theoretical analysis, including the transmitted torque, magnetic field and thermal analysis, is performed as well. After this, an experimental prototype of the proposed MR brake is fabricated and assembled. Then the torque transmission and heat dissipation of the prototype are experimentally investigated to evaluate the torque transmission properties and water cooling efficiency. Results indicate that the proposed MR brake is capable of producing a highly controllable brake torque, and the water cooling method can effectively assist in heat dissipation from the MR brake.
A novel magnetorheological (MR) clutch for high-power applications is designed, simulated and tested. The clutch is implemented in a two-layer multiplate transmission form and adopts a two-way liquid cooling method to improve the heat dissipation capability. In this paper, a brief introduction to the transmission form of the proposed MR clutch is given first. Then, theoretical analyses of the output torque, magnetic circuit and temperature characteristic are conducted and further design details are presented and discussed, followed by a magnetostatic simulation of the designed circuit. A prototype of the clutch was fabricated and several tests were carried out to evaluate the torque transmission, time response and steady slip power of the prototype. The results show that the proposed MR clutch can produce a maximum output torque of 1545 N m and possesses a high steady slip power of up to 35 kW. Therefore, the developed two-layer multiplate MR clutch is promising for applications in many high-power situations.
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