Optimal design of an automotive magnetorheological brake considering geometric dimensions and zero-field friction heat

This paper presents an optimal design of a magnetorheological (MR) brake for a middle-sized passenger car which can replace a conventional hydraulic disc-type brake. In the optimization, the required braking torque, the temperature due to zero-field friction of MR fluid, the mass of the brake system and all significant geometric dimensions are considered. After describing the configuration, the braking torque of the proposed MR brake is derived on the basis of the field-dependent Bingham and Herschel–Bulkley rheological model of the MR fluid. The optimal design of the MR brake is then analyzed taking into account available space, mass, braking torque and steady heat generated by zero-field friction torque of the MR brake. The optimization procedure based on the finite element analysis integrated with an optimization tool is proposed to obtain optimal geometric dimensions of the MR brake. Based on the proposed procedure, optimal solutions of single and multiple disc-type MR brakes featuring different types of MR fluid are achieved. From the results, the most effective MR brake for the middle-sized passenger car is identified and some discussions on the performance improvement of the optimized MR brake are described.