Electrorheological Fluid-Controlled “Smart” Journal Bearings

“Smart” materials and structures are characterized by their ability to sense, actuate, or control, either by themselves or through imbedded sensors, and are thus capable of adapting themselves to changes in external conditions to maintain a specified goal. In particular, electrorheological fluids have properties which can change in an electric field. A solution of the lubrication equation for ER fluids is developed to investigate controllability of the stability properties of ER fluid bearings. It is found that the properties of such bearings can be changed considerably by an applied electric field and the stability region can be extended substantially.