ABSTRACT
Magnetorheological Elastomers (MREs) consist of micron-sized magnetizable particles embedded in an elastomer matrix. Properties of these materials are altered reversibly upon application of an external magnetic field. They often exhibit highly nonlinear magneto-mechanical response. Development of a reliable constitutive framework is essential for further understanding of MREs’ coupled magneto-mechanical behavior as well as simulation of the MRE systems. In this work, a finite-strain magneto-mechanical model is proposed for MREs where the effect of magnetization is directly introduced in the material shear modulus as a new parameter. It is shown that this approach simplifies constitutive modelling and also perceives the magnetic saturation of MREs. The coupled effects of magnetization, deformation and particle-chains orientation on the mechanical response are also considered in the introduced material parameter. It is shown that the model well predicts the magneto-mechanical response of MREs at different deformation modes.
