Effects of rubber/magnetic particle interactions on the performance of magnetorheological elastomers

In this paper, we prepared MR elastomers containing carbonyl iron particles based on silicon rubber without using a magnetic field during curing by gamma-ray radiation. The effects of interactions between iron particles and the matrix on the performance of MR elastomers based on silicon rubber, including MR effect and mechanical properties, were investigated. The rubber/magnetic particle interactions were controlled by the modification of the iron surface using different kinds of silane coupling agents and characterized by SEM and DSC. The results showed that tensile strength increased with the increased interaction. However, the MR effect had a certain relationship with the structure of silane coupling agents and this is discussed in detail in relation to the mechanism of the MR effect. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.