Investigate the Effect of the Magnetic Field on the Mechanical Properties ofSilicone Rubber-Based Anisotropic Magnetorheological Elastomer duringCuring Process

: In this investigation, a new silicone rubber-based MRE material was prepared to be used as a forming medium in manufacturing thin-walled complex-shaped Ni-based tubes through the bulging process. Thus, it is signi fi cant to investigate the effect of magnetic fi eld intensity, magnetic fi eld loading time, and angle on the mechanical properties of the prepared MRE material during the curing process. The obtained results showed that increasing the magnetic fi eld intensity during the curing process can improve the orientation of the chain structure in the elastomer matrix effectively. However, its mechanical properties are the best under the corresponding magnetic fi eld intensity of 321 mT. Besides, by extending the magnetic fi eld loading time in the curing process, the orientation of the chain structure was optimized, at the same time, the mechanical properties were also improved, and the best loading time is about 20 – 25 min. By changing the loading angle of the magnetic fi eld during the curing process, the mechanical properties of the MRE were improved. When the loading angle of the magnetic fi eld is 90°, the elastomer showed the best compression mechanical properties and excellent compression reversibility. Besides, for the anisotropic MRE material, the performance with magnetic compression is always better than that without magnetic compression.