Enhanced adjustable damping through synergistic integration of metal rubber and magnetorheological fluid in a novel composite damper

Traditional passive dampers often fail to attenuate vibration under variable operating conditions because their damping and stiffness are fixed. This paper presents a novel composite damper with an inner–outer cylinder structure integrating a metal-rubber porous matrix, magnetorheological fluid (MRF), and mechanical springs. The structural design, including the double-rod piston and magnetic circuit, was analyzed using Ansys Maxwell simulations. Quasi-static and dynamic tests evaluated the effects of magnetic-field strength, excitation frequency, and amplitude on damper performance. Results show that metal rubber enhances static stiffness, energy dissipation, and magnetic-field sensitivity. Under both quasi-static and dynamic loading, the metal-rubber group outperformed the Control group, indicating synergy between the porous metal-rubber skeleton and MRF. Dynamic responses under different currents, frequencies, and amplitudes further demonstrate tunable mechanical behavior within the tested range. A concise nonlinear mechanical description showed reasonable agreement with experiments. Overall, the proposed metal-rubber–MRF–spring composite damper provides a feasible structural solution for adaptive vibration attenuation under variable conditions.