Modeling and characterization of a magneto-rheological fluid based damper and analysis of vibration isolation with the damper operating in passive mode

A physical model of a type of commercially available magneto-rheological fluid based damper has been developed to study the input–output response characteristics. The impedance of the nonlinear device has been analyzed based on equivalent linearization method. The capability of isolating vibration with the help of such a damper has also been studied analytically. The damper is operated in passive mode while the excitation is kept harmonic. A novel method of obtaining the steady-state response of a damped oscillator is presented that uses a combination of harmonic balance method and the method of averaging. The isolating property of the damper has been measured by transmissibilities derived for equivalent linear system.