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Characteristics and mechanisms of electrorheological fluids

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Abstract

Electrorheological (ER) fluids consist of suspensions of fine polarizable particles in a dielectric medium, which upon application of an electric field take on the characteristics of a solid in times of the order of milliseconds and reversibly return to liquid behavior upon removal of the field. The rheology, electrical characteristics, and structure of typical ER fluids are here reviewed. The proposed mechanisms and their accord with experimental data are discussed. Some directions for future research are mentioned.

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Conrad, H., Sprecher, A.F. Characteristics and mechanisms of electrorheological fluids. J Stat Phys 64, 1073–1091 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048815

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