Research on characterization method and influencing factors of sedimentation stability of magnetorheological fluid

The sedimentation stability of Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) is one of the research hotspots in the academic field of magnetorheological science. Excellent sedimentation stability is of great significance for the preservation and application of MRF. Given many traditional methods of characterization of sedimentation stability, this paper proposes a new method to characterize the sedimentation stability of MRF based on the change of shear yield stress during the sedimentation process of MRF. Then, the key components of the self-made MRF shear yield stress test device were introduced in detail, and three different surfactants containing dodecyl benzoate, polyethylene glycol and oleic acid were prepared. And then used the device to test their effects on the sedimentation stability of MRF. The results showed that oleic acid has the best effect on improving the sedimentation stability. Finally, the change law of shear yield stress of MRF in the next 90 days was predicted successfully by fitting experimental data based on the least square method. By comparing the test value and fitting value of 60–75 days, the error of the best fitting result were within 3%, this showed the reliability of the predicted results.