Modeling and identification of a shear mode magnetorheological damper

Magnetotheological (MR) dampers have emerged recently as potential devices for vibration mitigation and semi-active control in smart structures and vehicle applications. These devices are highly nonlinear and thus accurate models of these devices are important for effective simulation and control system design. In the current literature, the Bouc-Wen model is coupled with linear elements to describe these MR devices both in simulation and control. In this paper, we propose the friction Dahl model to characterize the dynamics of a shear mode MR damper. This leads to a reinterpretation of the MR damper behavior as a frictional device whose friction parameters change with the voltage. An identification technique for this new model is proposed and tested numerically using an experimentally obtained model. A good match has been observed between the model obtained from experiments and the Dahl based model of the MR device.