Investigation of Damping Characteristics on PLA and PVC Cantilever Structures with Magnetorheological Fluid Core

The vibration damping and natural frequencies of cantilever beams composed of surface layers as Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are experimentally studied with Magnetorheological (MR) fluid core. This study aims to improve damping using MR Fluid for PLA and PVC beams. Permanent magnets are used to produce the magnetic field. The magnetic flux density is adjusted by altering the gap across the permanent magnets. The damping of PLA and PVC cantilever beam with MR Fluid core is analyzed by free vibration test using LabVIEW instrumentation software. The damping ratio for PLA and PVC cantilever structures with MR Fluid increased by 122.22 percent and 94.87 percent, as the magnetic field intensity varied from 0Gauss(G) to 600Gauss(G). Based on the experimental damping ratio, the theoretical amplitude at the resonance condition is analyzed. The vibration amplitude is lowered for PLA and PVC cantilevers by 63.44 percent and 66.62 percent over the same variation in magnetic field strength. The natural frequencies obtained experimentally (0G) are validated with numerical modal analysis.