Effect of a homogeneous magnetic field on the viscoelastic behavior of magnetic elastomers

Viscoelastic behavior of highly elastic magnetic elastomers has been studied by three different experimental techniques: elongation, static and dynamic shears. It has been shown that the elastic modulus of the materials increases considerably in an external homogeneous magnetic field of up to 0.3 T (100-fold increase of the tangential modulus has been observed at small 1-4% deformations). The appearance of the new effect of pseudo-plasticity induced by the magnetic field has been observed leading to a considerable (up to 100-fold) increase in the shear loss modulus of the composites. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.