Structure-Enhanced Yield Shear Stress in Electrorheological Fluids

A new technology, compression-assisted aggregation, is developed to enhance the strength of electrorheological (ER) fluids. The yield shear stress of ER fluids depends on the fluid microstructure. The unassisted electric-field induced ER structure mainly consists of single chains, whose weak points are at their ends. This new technology produces a structure consisting of robust thick columns with strong ends. As the weak points of the original ER structure are greatly enforced, the new structure makes ER fluids super-strong: At a moderate electric field and moderate pressure the yield shear stress of ER fluids at 35% volume fraction exceeds 100 kPa, well above any requirement for major industrial applications.