Silicon carbide‐strengthened magnetorheological elastomer: Preparation and mechanical property

A novel silicon carbide (SiC)‐strengthened magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) was developed to enhance its viscoelastic performance. The influences of the size and weight content of the SiC particles on the viscoelastic performance of the MREs were systematically studied. The shear storage modulus, damping property, and magnetorheological effects were analyzed to evaluate their dynamic properties. Under optimum condition, the initial storage modulus ( G 0 ) of the MRE‐0.06‐SiC‐3 (SiC weight content 3.2 wt%, mean diameter 0.06 μm) is about 2.16 times larger than the MRE‐0.06‐SiC‐0 (nondoped MRE), whereas the magnetorheological effect was almost kept constant. In addition, the damping properties of the as‐prepared MREs which were obtained from the intrinsic damping, the magnetomechanical hysteresis, and the interface damping were also analyzed. These results provided a meaningful method for developing MREs with controllable storage modulus and damping capacity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2615–2623, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers