Electromagnetic rheological (EMR) fluid and method for using the EMR fluid
First Claim
1. A complex fluid comprising:
- a conducting medium; and
a plurality of micronparticles suspended in the medium,each of said micronparticles including a magnetically permeable core, an electrically insulating coating surrounding the core, and a conductive winding at least partially wound around the core so that the coating is disposed between the winding and the core.
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Abstract
An electromagnetic rheological (“EMR”) fluid (18) broadly includes a conducting medium (22) and a plurality of micronparticles (24) suspended in the medium (22). Each of the micronparticles (24) includes a magnetically permeable core (26), an electrically insulating coating (28) surrounding the core (26), and a conductive winding (30) at least partially wound around the core (26) so that the coating (28) is disposed between the winding (30) and the core (26). An apparatus (10) constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention broadly includes a deformable membrane (12), a pair of polar opposed plates (14 and 16) coupled to the membrane (12), the EMR fluid (18) filling the membrane (12) and being in communication with a current source (20). Current flowing through adjacent windings (30) induces magnetic fields in the corresponding micronparticles (24) that mutually draw the adjacent micronparticles (30) causing them to move together into a north pole-south pole alignment.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A complex fluid comprising:
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a conducting medium; and a plurality of micronparticles suspended in the medium, each of said micronparticles including a magnetically permeable core, an electrically insulating coating surrounding the core, and a conductive winding at least partially wound around the core so that the coating is disposed between the winding and the core. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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a membrane; a pair of magnetically-susceptible plates coupled to the outside of the membrane and diametrically opposed, said plates being operable to provide magnetic poles to the membrane; a complex fluid contained within the membrane; and a current source operable to be in electrical communication with the complex fluid, said complex fluid including a conducting medium, and a plurality of micronparticles suspended in the medium, each of said micronparticles including a magnetically permeable core, an electrically insulating coating surrounding the core, and a conductive winding at least partially wound around the core so that the coating is disposed between the winding and the core. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of exerting a force on a deformable membrane having an initial resting state, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) coupling a pair of magnetically-susceptible plates on the outside of the membrane and diametrically opposing the plates so that the plates are operable to provide opposing magnetic poles to the membrane; (b) filling the membrane with a conductive medium; (c) suspending micronparticles within the medium wherein each micronparticle includes a magnetically permeable core, an electrically insulating coating surrounding the core, and a conductive winding at least partially wound around the core so that the coating is disposed between the winding and the core; and (d) passing a current through the windings until sufficient micronparticles align to draw the plates closer together to move the membrane out of the initial resting state. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification