SPLINED VIBRATION DAMPING DEVICE USING ER FLUIDS

摘要

A vibration damping device for mounting between two spaced portions of a vehicle for absorbing road forces exerted on the vehicle. An inner metal cylindrical housing forms an internal piston chamber and is connected at one end to one portion of the vehicle, with the outer end of the rod of a piston which is slidably mounted within the piston chamber, being connected to the other portion of the vehicle. An outer housing surrounds a portion of the inner housing and forms a fluid transfer duct or flow channel between fluid chambers formed on opposite sides of the piston within the piston chamber. An electrode is mounted in the fluid duct for applying a voltage across the duct to affect the viscosity of an electrorheological (ER) fluid flowing therethrough to increase the damping force of the device. The electrode includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced splines and intervening grooves extending longitudinally along the fluid duct. The bottom portions of the grooves have a decreased electric field applied thereto than the splines, providing bleed grooves or leak paths for the ER fluid to decrease the shear-rate of the fluid. The inner housing may be formed with elongated projections which extend into the grooves of the electrode to provide a more uniform electric field along the fluid duct to control the amount of leakage through the bleed grooves. A secondary electrode ground may be formed in the grooves to control the electric field in the bleed grooves.