Dynamic Viscoelastic Behavior of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube–Reinforced Magnetorheological (MR) Nanocomposites

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel class of three-phase magnetorheological (MR) nanocomposites reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Microstructures of the nanocomposites are characterized with the scanning electron microscopy. The dynamic viscoelastic responses are investigated under the combined magnetic fields and dynamic mechanical loads in both compression and shear modes. Experimental data demonstrate that the three-phase nanocomposites exhibit not only higher zero-magnetic-field stiffness and damping performance than conventional MR elastomers, but also higher magnetic-field-induced increase in these dynamic properties, which confirms the superiority of the proposed MR nanocomposites over conventional MR elastomers.