Original Article

Proc IMechE Part D:

J Automobile Engineering
1–18
Development of a magnetorheological Ó IMechE 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0954407015574204
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Chiranjit Sarkar1 and Harish Hirani2

Abstract
A conventional disc wears out and the brake pollutes the environment. Brake pad dust is reported to be the largest
source of environment pollution1. The particles emanating because of wear of the brake pad pollute the environ-
ment2,3,4. In addition to pollution caused by wear particles, the friction-induced noise between the brake pad and the
disc is also a major concern5. Also, localized heating occurs in a conventional disc brake. To tackle both of these prob-
lems, conventional disc brakes can be replaced with manetorheological fluid brakes. Magnetorheological fluids are mate-
rials having a shear yield stress which is a function of the magnetic field. On the application of a magnetic field,
magnetorheological particles become aligned and increase the shear resistance between relatively moving surfaces. The
friction between the stator and the rotor increases and fulfils the braking function, which means that magnetorheological
fluids can be used as brake friction materials. A magnetorheological brake consists of a rotating disc or discs immersed
in a magnetorheological fluid and enclosed in an electromagnetic casing. The torque characteristics of the magnetorheo-
logical brake in the shear mode are controlled by regulating the yield stress of the magnetorheological fluid. An increase
in the yield stress increases the braking torque, which means that, the higher the yield strength of the magnetorheologi-
cal fluid, the better is the performance of the magnetorheological brake. However, the major disadvantage of the shear-
mode-based magnetorheological brake is its high resisting torque even in the off-state viscosity, and such magnetorheo-
logical brakes cannot be recommended for automotive applications. To obtain the performance of a conventional disc
brake, experimental studies on a conventional disc brake were performed using a full-scale dynamometer. In addition to
wear particles, localized heating of the disc was observed. The disc–pad interfaces were modelled to simulate the disc
temperature. The values of the maximum temperature, which were obtained from simulations as well as experiments,
were compared. The simulations were extended to hypothetical 360° pads, and a significant reduction in the maximum
temperature was noted. Based on the idea of 360° pads, a magnetorheological brake subjected to shearing was analysed.
To perform experiments on a small-scale magnetorheological brake, a test set-up was designed and developed, and it
was confirmed that a magnetorheological brake subjected to shearing provides a better torque than does a conventional
disc brake of the same size. An ideal magnetorheological brake should exert a zero frictional torque in the off-state con-
dition and a controllable frictional torque in the on-state condition. An attempt was made to design such a magnetor-
heological brake. To overcome the disadvantage of the shear-mode-based magnetorheological brake, a new design of
magnetorheological brake with a slotted disc was proposed. The design and development of the proposed magnetorheo-
logical brake, incorporating the compression-assisted shear mode, was detailed. The results of the braking torque, the
temperature distribution and the off-state viscosities were plotted. Finally, comparison between the proposed magnetor-
heological brake and a small-scale disc brake was presented. The results show that, with an increase in the braking pres-
sure (from 2 bar to 6 bar), the maximum value of temperature rises because of enhancement of the localized heating in
the disc. The temperature rise is less in the case of the extended brake pad (360°), which was used in the magnetorheo-
logical brake. The surface temperature of the magnetorheological brake increases with increasing magnetic field. The
magnetorheological fluid with 50 wt % iron particles has a less viscous torque in the off-state condition and a high-field
torque under the compression mechanism in the magnetorheological brake, which fulfils the criterion for an ideal mag-
netorheological brake to replace a conventional disc brake of the same size.

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University,
Delhi, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi, Delhi, India

Corresponding author:
Chiranjit Sarkar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Delhi
Technological University, Delhi 110042, India.
Email: chiranjit.ju@gmail.com

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2 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

Keywords
Full-scale brake inertia dynamometer, magnetorheological brake, surface temperature, small-scale conventional disc
brake, off-state viscosity, slotted disc, weight fraction of iron particles, braking torque

Date received: 22 June 2014; accepted: 28 January 2015

Introduction cannot be used in automotive applications as their off-

In an automobile disc brake, the pads are pushed
against the disc to retard the motion of the wheel. A
sketch of a disc brake is shown in Figure 1. On actua-
tion of the brakes, as shown in Figure 1(b), the lining
materials of the brake pads are subjected to a large
amount of frictional heating and associated wear dur-
ing forced deceleration. This wear phenomenon gener-
ates brake lining particles which are subsequently
released to the environment.6,7 In addition to pollution,
localized heating is a disadvantage seen in such disc
brakes. The localized heating causes excessive thermal
deformation of the surfaces and alters the contact con-
figuration, which in turn reduces the braking effect,
particularly when it is required the most.
The localized heating produces harmful surface
cracks8 and induces low-frequency vibrations.9,10 To
tackle the problem of a conventional disc brake, Park
et al.11 and Nguyen and Choi12 considered magnetor-
heological (MR) brakes. A magnetorheological fluid
(MRF),13 which is used in an MR brake, consists of
micron-sized, magnetically permeable particles dis-
persed throughout the non-magnetic fluid carrier. The
torque characteristics of MR brakes are controlled by
regulating the yield stress of the MRF.14 An increase in
the yield stress increases the braking torque.
Unfortunately, the existing designs of MR brakes
state performance is unacceptable.
An ideal MR brake should exert a low viscous tor-
que in off-state conditions and a high field torque in
on-state conditions. In the present paper, an attempt is
made to design this type of MR brake. First, the experi-
mental study of a conventional disc brake using a full-
scale brake inertia dynamometer is described. To
validate the experimental outcomes, a finite element
analysis of a conventional disc brake was carried out.
Then, a conventional MR brake was introduced to
replace the conventional disc brake. The torque and sur-
face temperature measurements on the conventional
MR brake are detailed. A comparison between the MR
brake and the conventional small-scale disc brake are
illustrated. The conventional MR brake gives a greater
field torque when the vehicle is running. To overcome
the disadvantage of the conventional MR brake, a
slotted-disc MR brake was proposed. MRFs with differ-
ent weight fractions were characterized, and the benefits
of the special-purpose MRF detailed. The compression
mechanism on the proposed MR brake is described; the
proposed brake was fabricated and experiments were
made to measure the braking torque at different mag-
netic fields. Finally, a comparison of the braking torque
using the compression mechanism with special-purpose
MRF and the braking torque using the shear mode with
conventional MRF is illustrated.

Figure 1. Braking mechanism of the disc brake system: (a) before braking action; (b) after braking action.

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Sarkar and Hirani
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the brake inertia
dynamometer: 01, base frame;02, driving d.c. motor; 03, gear
drive coupling; 04, wheel drive coupling;05, main driving shaft;
06, inertia wheel; 07, main drive coupling; 08, torque arm; 09,
load sensor; 10, ball bearing; 11, brake housing.
Experimental analysis of a conventional
disc brake
In the present study, a full-scale brake inertia dynam-
ometer (Figure 2) was used to perform experiments on
a conventional disc brake. LabVIEW-based software
was used to calculate the braking speed (km/h), the disc
temperature (°C) and the torque (N m).
The full-scale brake inertia dynamometer shown in
Figure 2 consists of the base frame, the driving d.c.
motor, the gear drive coupling, the wheel drive cou-
pling, the main driving shaft, the inertia wheel, the main
drive coupling, the torque arm, the load sensor, the ball
bearing and the brake housing, as labelled in Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the brake inertia
dynamometer.
To perform experiments on the conventional disc
brake, the gross vehicle mass (16,200 kg), the inertia
Figure 3. Block diagram of the brake inertia dynamometer.
RPM: r/min (speed); Pr: pressure; Temp.: temperature.
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3
(148.6 kg m s2), the rolling radius (571 mm), the effec-
tive radius (172 mm), the average speed (40 km/h) and
the actuating pressure in the range 2–6 bar were consid-
ered. Experiments on the full-scale brake inertia
dynamometer were performed on the basis of ECE
Regulation No. 90 schedules.15 The disc temperature
was monitored using a non-contact infrared sensor, as
shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 provides images of the
wear particles and the heated disc observed during
experimentation. Figure 5(a) shows the initial condi-
tions, which mean that the brake is not applied and the
disc is rotating at a specific rotational speed. The envi-
ronment surrounding the disc brake assembly is shown
by a white rectangle. When the brake is applied on the
disc, the rotational speed decreases gradually and heat
is generated at the disc–brake pad interface. Figure
5(b) and (c) shows the environment polluted with the
wear particles from the interface due to frictional heat-
ing at the disc– brake pad interface.
The braking torque and the temperature on the
Volvo disc were measured on the full-scale brake iner-
tia dynamometer. The maximum measured braking
torque is 1400 N m at 6 bar and the maximum tem-
perature on the disc measured is 100 °C at 6 bar, as
shown in Figure 6. The braking torque increases with
increasing pressure, as shown in Figure 6(a). At higher
pressures, the actuation force increases, and so the rate
of heat generation and the corresponding disc tempera-
ture (as shown in Figure 6(b)) rise.
Finite element analysis of the conventional
disc brake
The aim of the present paper is to develop an MR
brake that can compete with the conventional disc
brake. For this purpose a combination of simulations
(to understand and predict the phenomena) and an
4 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

element analysis of the full-scale conventional disc

Figure 4. Conventional brake set-up on the dynamometer.
I.R: infrared.
experimental approach (to validate the understanding)
was utilized. Keeping these points in focus, first, a finite
brake (on which the experiments were made) was car-
ried out. A disc with an inner radius r1 of 63 mm and
an outer radius r2 of 213.5 mm and a brake pad with an
inner radius r1c of curvature of 95.25 mm and an outer
radius of curvature r2c of 181.25 mm were considered.
The angle extended by the brake pad interface was 60°.
To simulate the performance of the disc brake–pad
interface, the brake pad was modelled (Figure 7) as the
imprint face on the disc. The disc and the brake pad
were considered as a solid domain. The surrounding air
(Figure 7) of volume 1000 mm 3 600 mm 3 600 mm
was considered as a fluid domain. The enclosure
defined the air region surrounding the conventional
disc brake. The boundary conditions were defined by
six air domains: air in, air out and four air openings
having a temperature of 20 °C. The region labelled Air
Inlet is defined by the plane through which air is enter-
ing (shown by the black inward arrows); the region
labelled Air Outlet is defined by the plane through

Figure 5. Wear particles and localized heating in the disc brake: (a) first step; (b) second step; (c) third step.

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Sarkar and Hirani 5

Figure 6. (a) Torque versus actuation pressure; (b) disc temperature at various pressures.

speed at which the vehicle travels and the air

circulation.
In this research work, grey cast iron is used as the
disc material. The heat transfer coefficient between the
disc and the surrounding air was taken as 5.7 W/m2 K.
The heat transfer from all the free surfaces of the disc
was considered in the convection process.
To simulate the heat17Hg generated at the interface
of the brake pad, the equation used is

Hg = DKE
1 
= I v2i  v2f
2
where DKE is the change in the kinetic energy, I is the
moment of inertia given by18
Figure 7. Modelling of the disc brake.
1

I = m r22 + r21 ð2Þ
2
which air in exiting (shown by the black outward m is the gross vehicle mass divided by the number of
arrows); the region labelled Air Opening is defined by wheels (it was assumed that the vehicle mass is equally
the other four planes (shown by the blue outward divided between the four wheels), vi is the initial
arrows). The reference frame was considered as a whole angular speed (rad/s) and vf is the final angular speed
vehicle. The velocity of the air, relative to that of the (rad/s).
disc, was taken to be 40 km/h. The finite element mesh Substituting equation (2) into equation (1) gives
of the disc brake is shown in Figure 8. It shows the disc
with a mesh having 76,953 tetrahedron elements and 1
 
Hg = m r22 + r21 v2i  v2f ð3Þ
12,271 nodes. The brake pads are sketched as imprint 4
faces on each side of disc on which heat is applied.
To find the stopping time, the equation used is
Belhocine and Bouchetara16 described the fact that
part of the frictional heat escapes into the air ambient Hg = qAp t ð4Þ
by convection at the time of the braking process. They
tried to simulate convection by defining the field of air where q is the heat flux rate,19,20 i.e. the heat generated
surrounding the disc. They found difficulty in calculat- per unit area per unit time, Ap is the total area of the
ing the heat transfer coefficient as it depends on the brake pad surfaces and t is the stopping time.
locations, the construction of the braking systems, the Therefore, q multiplied by Ap and t gives the total heat

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6 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering
Figure 8. Finite element mesh of the disc brake.
Table 1. Stopping times for different applied pressures.
Actuating pressure (bar) Stopping time (s)
2 0.39
3 0.26
4 0.19
5 0.15
6 0.13
Hg generated at the disc–brake pad interface. The heat
flux rate is
q = m vi re P
where m is the coefficient of friction, re is the effective
radius and P is the applied pressure.
From equations (3) to (5), the stopping time is given
as

  radius is 138.25 mm. The braking torque for this large
m r22 + r21 v2i  v2f
t= ð6Þ
4mvi re PAp
The braking pressure and the corresponding stopping
time are listed in Table 1. In the full-scale brake inertia
dynamometer, the braking pressure applied on the
brake pad varies from 2 bar to 6 bar. To validate the
experimental findings, ANSYS CFX simulations were
made at the corresponding pressure. However, in the
real vehicle, the pressure applied in the brake booster
varies from 8274 kPa (82.73 bar) to 13,789 kPa (137.89
bar).21
The stopping time of the rotating disc with an
increase in the applied pressure (from 2 bar to 6 bar) is
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estimated using equation (6) and is listed in Table 1. It
shows that the disc will stop within 0.39 s at an applied
pressure of 2 bar and within 0.13 s at an applied pres-
sure of 6 bar. As shown in Table 1, with increasing
applied pressure, the stopping time decreases. The
results of the temperature distribution at various oper-
ating pressures are presented in Figure 9. From this fig-
ure, it can be seen that, with an increase in the braking
pressure (from 2 bar to 6 bar), localized heating
increases and so the maximum value of the temperature
rises.
From the dimensions of the conventional disc brake,
ð5Þ the torque produced in the brake22 is
T = 2m3pressure3brakepadarea3meanradius ð7Þ
where m is the coefficient of friction15,23 (equal to 0.35),
the brake pad area is 19,116.42 mm2 and the mean
disc brake at a pressure of 6 bar is 1110 N m. The max-
imum surface temperature in the extended brake pad
was estimated using simulation software. The simulated
maximum temperatures and the experimental tempera-
ture (described in the previous section) at different
actuating pressures are compared in Table 2.
According to SAE J2521, the maximum temperature
during the fade operation varies from 100 °C to 550 °C
at the front disc and from 100 °C to 350 °C at the rear
disc because the rate of increase in the pressure during
these cycles is kept at 250 6 50 bar/s. In the present
research work, the pressure applied in the brake pads
varies from 2 bar to 6 bar. Because of this low-pressure
application, the maximum temperature developed on
Sarkar and Hirani 7

Figure 9. Temperature distributions on a conventional large Volvo disc at various pressures (initial operating speed, 40 km/h; final
operating speed, 0 km/h): (a) P = 2 bar (maximum temperature, 33 °C); (b) P = 3 bar (maximum temperature, 58.3 °C); (c) P = 4 bar
(maximum temperature, 71.2 °C); (d) P = 5 bar (maximum temperature, 83.8 °C); (e) P = 6 bar (maximum temperature, 93.7 °C).

Table 2. Maximum temperatures at various pressures.

Pressure (bar) Maximum simulation Maximum experimental Difference in

temperature (°C) temperature (°C) temperature (%)

2 33.0 (Figure 9(a)) 34.73 4.98

3 58.3 (Figure 9(b)) 56.71 –2.80
4 71.2 (Figure 9(c)) 74.83 4.85
5 83.8 (Figure 9(d)) 88.59 5.40
6 93.7 (Figure 9(e)) 101.15 7.37

the brake pad surface (as described in Table 2) is lower
than the range of temperatures according to SAE
J2521.
Table 2 shows a close match between the simulated
temperatures of the disc brake and the experimental
temperatures of the disc brake. These results were the
motivation to simulate the temperature model for other
types of disc brake arrangement.
Conventional magnetorheological brake
As in the results of Figure 9, high-pressure braking will
increase the maximum disc temperature. One way to
deal with this localized temperature is to increase the
angular extent of the pad. For this purpose, the angle
of curvature of the brake pad interface was hypotheti-
cally increased to 360° and a finite element analysis was
carried out. The temperature distributions at two pres-
sures are depicted in Figure 10. On comparing the results
of the maximum temperature for pad extents of 60°
(Figure 9(b)) and 360° (Figure 10(b)), it can be stated
that increasing the pad area reduces the temperature rise.
It is interesting to note that the concept of an
extended brake pad has been inherently used in MR
disc brakes,11,12,24 in which the MRF acts as the brake
lining material. Braking in MR brakes is achieved by
increasing the magnetic field from zero to desirable val-
ues, which in turn increases the friction resistance of
the MRF against the disc. A number of theoretical and
experimental research studies related to MR brakes
have been reported by various researchers.11,13,25–27 It
is worth noting that only the shear phenomenon of
MRFs has been taken into account in all the pub-
lished25–27 MR brake configurations.

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8 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

Figure 10. Temperature distributions on a conventional Volvo disc at various pressures when the angle of curvature of the brake
pad is 360°: (a) P = 2 bar (maximum temperature, 30 °C); (b) P = 3 bar (maximum temperature, 41 °C).

In an MR brake, high weight fractions (80–85 wt %)

of iron particles25–28 and a carrier fluid that can tolerate
a high temperature are essential requirements. To fulfil
these requirements, a magnetorheological fluid (MRF),
containing carbonyl iron (CI) particles (80 wt %),
denoted MRF80, and silicone oil, was synthesized. The
silicone oil and synthesized MRF were characterized
using an Anton Paar MCR-102 magnetorheometer.
Because of the limitation of this magnetorheometer, a
maximum magnetic field value of 152.4 kA/m was
applied. The measured viscosities of silicone oil at differ-
ent shear rates are plotted in Figure 11. The shear stress
values at various magnetic fields are plotted in Figure
12. The measured viscosity of silicone oil is 0.218 Pa s at
100 s–1, and the shear stress of synthesized MRF80 is
40.99 kPa at a magnetic field of 152.40 kA/m.
Figure 11. Viscosities of silicone oil at different shear rates. The shear stress equation for MRF80 at various
magnetic flux densities (as shown in Figure 12) can be
written as

t yd = 106 H2 + 0:084H + 291:4 ð8Þ

Estimating the torque of the conventional

magnetorheological brake
A typical MR brake under the shear mode25–27 is illu-
strated in Figure 13. Figure 13 shows a rotary disc
fitted on the shaft. The split housing plates, which are
mounted on the bearings and seals, surround the disc.
The MRF entrapped between the disc and the housing
plates acts as a friction material. The copper coil is
required to generate the magnetic field within the MR
brake. Both the disc and the housing plates are made
of low-carbon steel. The shaft is made of stainless steel.
Figure 12. Shear stresses of MRF80 at various magnetic flux The seals and bearings are made of rubber and stainless
densities. steel respectively.

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Sarkar and Hirani 9

Figure 13. (a) Three-dimensional schematic shear behaviour and (b) two-dimensional schematic shear behaviour of the MR brake.
MR: magnetorheological.

where h (= 0.218 Pa s) is the viscosity of the carrier

Figure 14. Theoretical braking torque using MRF80.
fluid for h = 0.001 m, r1 = 0.01 m and r2 = 0.44 m.
The theoretical braking torque of the MR brake using
MRF80 was estimated on the basis of equation (9),
and the predicted value of the braking torque is 7 N
m for a magnetic field of 150 kA/m. The estimated
torque as a function of the magnetic field is plotted in
Figure 14.
The magnetic field H is calculated as (number of
turns 3 current)/(2 3 MR gap). The number of turns
for the coil is 500, and the applied current is varied from
0 A to 1.25 A. The MR gap is kept as 1 mm. The
increase in the surface area of the brake pad will
increase the contact area. This affects the braking tor-
que as well as the cooling of the disc brake. However, in
the present modelling, the cooling was not considered.

The braking torque using the Bingham model11 can Measured torque of the conventional
be expressed as
magnetorheological brake
4 3
phv 4
To perform experiments on the MR brake containing
T= r2  r31 t yd + r2  r41 ð9Þ
3 h MRF80 a new brake test rig, shown in Figure 15, was

Figure 15. Schematic diagram of the MR brake test rig.

D C: d.c.; MR: magnetorheological; H.P: hp.

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10
developed. The rig consists of a d.c. motor with a speed
controller. A flywheel is connected between the d.c.
motor and the MR brake through the bearing bracket,
jaw coupling and flexible coupling. A d.c. power supply
(30 V and 5 A) is used to control the current to the elec-
tromagnet of the MR brake. A tachometer is used to
measure the rotational speed.
The performance of the MR brake was examined
for various combinations of the current (0.00 A, 0.25
A, 0.50 A, 0.75 A, 1.00 A, 1.25 A, 1.50 A, 1.75 A and
2.00 A) and the speed of the brake shaft. To evaluate
the brake torque and the temperature rise at any partic-
ular speed (i.e. 200 r/min) in the shear mode, the fol-
lowing procedure was utilized.
1. Maintain the motor speed at the specified value
using the speed controller. Record the readings on
the voltmeter and the ammeter to estimate the
power supplied. Use the tachometer to measure
the speed of the brake shaft.
2. Supply a current to the central electromagnet of
the MR brake. In the presence of the magnetic
field, the MR brake reduces the speed of the
motor.
3. Increase the voltage of the speed controller to
maintain the specified speed of the MR brake
shaft. Record the new readings on the voltmeter
and the ammeter to estimate the final supplied
power. Estimate the braking torque29 using the
equation
PWf PWi
Brakingtorque =  ð10Þ
vf vi
where PWi is the initial power loss, PWf is the final
power loss, vi is the initial angular speed (rad/s)
and vf is the final angular speed (rad/s).
4. After stabilization of the temperature, obtain the
temperature pattern using the infrared thermal
image camera in the desktop computer.
5. Switch off the power supply to the electromagnet
and reduce the speed of the d.c. motor to zero.
6. Switch on the table fan to cool the MR brake to
return to the initial temperature. Repeat the same
procedure for another experiment (i.e. with a dif-
ferent current to the electromagnet and a different
motor speed).
The braking torque of the MR brake using the
synthesized MRF80 was measured in the experimental
test rig for the MR brake and it produces a torque of 6
N m for a magnetic field of 150 kA/m. Figure 16 shows
the comparison between the theoretical torque and the
experimental torque. There is a close match between
the theoretical torque and the experimental torque. The
experimental torque saturated at a magnetic field of
150 kA/m.
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Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering
Figure 16. Comparison between the theoretical torque and
the experimental torque.
The surface temperature of the MR brake was mea-
sured using an infrared thermal image camera. The
maximum temperatures on the surface of the MR brake
are 29.6 °C and 38.2 °C at magnetic fields of 0 kA/m
and 250 kA/m respectively. Figure 17 shows the MR
brake surface temperature measured using the infrared
thermal image camera. From this figure, it can be con-
cluded that the surface temperature of the MR brake
does not rise to a high value.
Comparison between the magnetorheological brake
and a conventional small-scale disc brake
The importance of the MR brake can be seen by com-
paring its performance (a better braking torque and a
relatively lower surface temperature) with that of the
conventional disc brake. Therefore, it was decided to
simulate the small-scale disc brake, using the same disc
dimensions that were considered for the experiments.
An inner radius r1 of 10 mm, an outer radius r2 of 44
mm, an inner radius of curvature r1c of the brake pad
of 15.12 mm, an outer radius r2c of curvature of the
brake pad of 37.60 mm and an angle of curvature of the
brake pad of 60° were considered. Using these dimen-
sions, the calculated area of the brake pad is 620.54
mm2. The value of the simulated braking torque for this
small brake pad is 6.86 N m. The results of the tempera-
ture distributions for various operating pressures (from
2 bar to 6 bar) are presented in Figure 18. The maxi-
mum simulated temperatures of the small-scale conven-
tional disc are 27.7 °C and 69.8 °C at pressures of 2 bar
and 6 bar respectively.
On comparing Figure 17 and Figure 18, it can be
observed that the surface temperatures of the MR
brake are much less than those of the conventional disc
brake. On the basis of this comparison, it can be con-
cluded that MR brakes provide better performances
(greater braking torque and lower surface temperature)
than those of conventional disc brakes.
The braking torque of a disc brake can be increased
by increasing the pad area from 620.54 mm2 to 848.23
mm2 by decreasing the inner radius of curvature (r1c =
12 mm) and increasing the outer radius of curvature
Sarkar and Hirani 11

Figure 17. Surface temperature of the MR brake using MRF80 when various currents are applied to the central electromagnet: (a)
H = 0 kA/m (maximum temperature, 29.6 °C); (b) H = 62.50 kA/m (maximum temperature, 32.2 °C); (c) H = 125 kA/m (maximum
temperature, 35.3 °C); (d) H = 187.5 kA/m (maximum temperature, 37.9 °C); (e) H = 250 kA/m (maximum temperature, 38.2 °C).
Max.: maximum; Min.: minimum; Avg.: average; Dist: distance; Trefl: Reflective Apparent Temperature.

Figure 18. Temperature distributions on the hypothetical small disc at various pressures: (a) P = 2 bar (maximum temperature,
27.7 °C); (b) P = 3 bar (maximum temperature, 45.6 °C); (c) P = 4 bar (maximum temperature, 54.6 °C); (d) P = 5 bar (maximum
temperature, 62.3 °C); (e) P = 6 bar (maximum temperature, 69.8 °C).

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12
Table 3. Comparison of the braking torques.
Maximum braking
torque (N m)
Magnetorheological 9 the proposed brake configurations. The shear stress of
brake in the present study
Cylindrical magnetorheological brake30 10
Small-scale conventional disc brake 9.60
(r2c = 42 mm). The calculated braking torque for this
small brake pad is 9.60 N m. This braking torque
(which is equal to 9.6 N m) is comparable with the tor-
que of MR brakes, as shown in Table 3. The overall
dimensions of the cylindrical MR brake presented by
Kikuchi and Kobayashi30 are 84 mm 3 81 mm. In the
present case, the diameter and the length of the pro-
posed MR brake are 180 mm and 28 mm respectively.
Even though MR brakes provide comparable braking
torques and lower values of surface temperatures, these
brakes have the major disadvantage of the high off-state
viscosity of MRFs, which continuously resist the rota-
tion of disc in off-brake conditions. The off-state viscos-
ities of MRFs containing various percentages of iron
particles were measured using an Anton Paar MCR-102
magnetorheometer and are plotted in Figure 19.
In the following, MRFs containing 90 wt %, 85 wt
%, 70 wt%, 60 wt %, 50 wt %, 40 wt %, 30 wt % and
20 wt % of iron particles are denoted as MRF90,
MRF85, MRF70, MRF60, MRF50, MRF40, MRF30
and MRF20 respectively (MRF80 has already been
defined). The high off-state viscosity of MRF80 is
highly undesirable in the automotive industry as the
brake is utilized for less than 10% of the driving time.
In other words, a power loss, particularly when braking
is not required, is a major limitation of the MR brake
designed on the basis of the shear mode. There is a need
to explore the additional mechanism of the MR effect
to improve the design of the MR brake by incorporat-
ing MRF40 or MRF50 during driving which becomes
converted into MRF80 or MRF85 during braking.
Proposed slotted-disc magnetorheological
brake
In the previous section, the high off-state viscosities of
MRFs was pointed out as one of the major disadvan-
tages of the MR brake. There is a need to synthesize an
MRF that acts as MRF50 during the driving time and
performs as MRF80 or MRF85 during the braking time.
The choice of MRF50 during the driving time was made
because MRF50 does not provide the MR effect.31,32
Characterization of the magnetorheological fluid
In accordance with the aim of the proposed research,
MRF50 was chosen to fulfil the conditions of a low
particle percentage during the driving time (no brake)
and a high particle percentage during the braking time.
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Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering
MRF50 has a low off-state viscosity in comparison with
that of MRF60, as shown in Figure 19, while its off-
state viscosity is similar to that of MRF40 (Figure 19).
On the basis of these results, MRF50 was selected for
MRF50 was measured using the Anton Paar MCR-102
magnetorheometer, giving a shear stress of 24.51 kPa at
a magnetic field of 152.40 kA/m. The shear stress of
MRF50 is shown in Figure 20 as a function of the mag-
netic field.
To observe the effect of the weight percentage of
MR particles, MRF20, MRF30, MRF40, MRF50,
MRF60, MRF70, MRF80, MRF85 and MRF90 were
synthesized and characterized for shear stress using the
Anton Paar MCR-102 magnetorheometer at a shear
rate of 100 s–1. The results for all these fluids are
plotted in Figure 21. It can be observed that MRF90
gives the maximum shear stress and MRF20 provides
the minimum shear stress. The results of MRF85 and
MRF90 are very similar to each other; however, there
is significant difference in the shear strengths of
MRF20, MRF30, MRF40 and MRF50. Based on the
results (Figure 21) obtained from magnetorheometer,
the curve-fitting equations for the shear stress t are
expressed in the following equations. At 13.46 kA/m,
t = 19:71w4  48:53w3 + 42:63w2  13:41w + 1:453
ð11Þ
At 33.78 kA/m,
t = 84:42w4  182:3w3 + 141w2  39:39w + 4:011
ð12Þ
At 77.21 kA/m,
t = 335:9w4  743:7w3 + 574:2w2  158:7w + 15:29
ð13Þ
At 152.40 kA/m,
t = 2026w4  4300w3 + 3221w2  924:3w + 89:25
ð14Þ
The above equations are required to design the pro-
posed MR brake. In the present study, a compressive
force was applied during braking conditions to increase
the particle percentage from 50 wt % to 80–85 wt %. A
mechanism was devised to compress MRF during brak-
ing so that the carrier fluid passes through small slots
to the expansion zone and increases the percentage of
particles in the compression zone.
Compression mechanism for magnetorheological
brake
To increase the on-state friction torque, a mechanism
was developed to compress the MRF during braking
and to increase the percentage of MR particles from 50
wt % in off-state conditions to 85 wt % (or more) in
Sarkar and Hirani
Figure 19. Off-state viscosities of MRFs.
MRF50: magnetorheological fluid containing 50 wt % of iron particles;
MRF40: magnetorheological fluid containing 40 wt % of iron particles;
MRF60: magnetorheological fluid containing 60 wt % of iron particles;
MRF80: magnetorheological fluid containing 80 wt % of iron particles.
Figure 20. Shear stresses of MRF50 at various magnetic fields.
Figure 21. Shear stress of the MRF versus weight fraction of
the CI particles at various magnetic fields.
on-state conditions. A slotted disc (as shown in Figure
22) was designed so that during compression the carrier
fluid passes from the compression zone to the
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13
Figure 22. Disc with slots.
Figure 23. Chain of iron particles in the MR brake.
MR: magnetorheological.
expansion region through slots and increases the per-
centage of particles in the compression zone. Figure 22
illustrates the slots on the disc with radii of curvature
of r4 = 17 mm and r5 = 23 mm, and angles of curva-
ture of u1 = 93°, u2 = 87° and u3 = 82°.
The assembly of the MR brake with the slotted disc
is shown in Figure 23. This figure depicts the alignment
of carbonyl particles in the direction of the magnetic
field induced by supplying a current to the central
electromagnet.
When a current is gradually applied to the side elec-
tromagnet, the stator acts as a magnet and the housing
plate assembly acts as an armature which slides in the
direction Da by compressing the springs, as shown in
Figure 24.
On actuating the compression mode of the MR
brake, the final weight percentage of CI particles in the
compression zone is 88.85 wt %, whereas the final
14 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

Figure 27. MR disc with slots.

Figure 24. Iron particle chain after compression.

88.85 wt % and 34.17 wt % of CI particles were esti-
mated using equation (15) and are plotted in Figure 25.

Estimation of braking torque

The braking torque (detailed in Appendix 2) for a disc
with slots in the compression-assisted shear mode, can
be expressed as
2p 3
phv 4

T= r2  r31 t 88:85 + r2  r41
3 2h
hrs v
 t 88:85 rs + As
h ð15Þ
2p 3
phv 4

+ r2  r31 t 34:17 + r2  r41
3 hrs v
2h
Figure 25. Shear stresses of MRFs at various magnetic fields.  t 34:17 rs + As
h
CI: carbonyl iron.
Figure 26 shows the braking torques of the MR brake
operating under the compression-assisted shear mode.
To verify these results, experiments on the slotted-disc
MR brake were performed. The experimental work is
detailed in the next section.

Experimental study on the proposed

Figure 26. Theoretical braking torques in the MR brake with
the slotted disc after compression.
weight percentage of CI particles in the extension zone
is 34.17 wt %. Detailed calculations are provided in
Appendix 1. The shear stresses (kPa) using MRFs with
magnetorheological brake
The fabricated prototype of the slotted disc is shown in
Figure 27. This slotted disc was assembled in the MR
brake set-up shown in Figure 15. To perform experi-
ments on the proposed MR brake, the same procedure
that was discussed earlier was followed, except for com-
pression mode actuation. The desired current was sup-
plied to the side electromagnet to compress the MRF,
and then the desired current was supplied to the central
electromagnet.
The braking torques of the proposed slotted-disc
MR brake were measured using the experimental test
rig and are plotted in Figure 28. Figure 28 shows the
comparison between the theoretical torques and the
experimental torques in the compression-assisted shear

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Sarkar and Hirani
Figure 28. Comparison between the theoretical torques and
the experimental torques in the compression-assisted shear
mode.
Figure 29. Comparison between the torques measured in the
compression-assisted shear mode and the torques exerted by
MRF80 in the shear mode.
MRF80: magnetorheological fluid containing 80 wt % of iron particles.
mode. The results in this figure provide a close match
between the theoretical torques and the experimentally
measured torques for magnetic fields up to 200 kA/m.
The maximum value of the magnetic field that can
be applied with the MCR-102 magnetorheometer used
in the present work is limited to 152.40 kA/m. The
shear stresses of different weight fractions of iron-parti-
cle-based MRFs were estimated at the maximum mag-
netic field of 152.40 kA/m. Therefore, the theoretical
torque does not the follow the curve-fitting equation
(8) for a magnetic field H greater than 152.4 kA/m and
hence gives a different value from the experimental tor-
que for a magnetic field of 300 kA/m.
The results plotted in Figure 29 display higher values
of the measured torque under the compression-assisted
shear mode. This means that relatively strong chains of
MR particles are formed under compression. It can be
stated that the MR brake made with a slotted disc
demonstrates a higher torque than the torque exerted
by MRF80 in the shear mode.
In short, in the present research, an MR brake was
designed and developed that provides a low off-state
friction torque and a high on-state friction torque. Its
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15
performance is better than that of the conventional
automotive disc brake.
Conclusions
In the present paper, theoretical and experimental stud-
ies on a conventional disc brake, a conventional MR
brake and a proposed MR brake were performed.
Based on the studies, the following conclusions can be
drawn.
1. An increase in the maximum temperature with an
increase in the actuation pressure or with an
increase in the magnetic field was observed.
However, an increase in the temperature of the
MR brake is far less than that of the disc–pad
brake.
2. The MR brake, owing to the full 360° MRF pad,
provides a higher torque value than a conventional
disc brake does.
3. A conventional (shear-mode-based) MR brake has
a disadvantage because of its higher off-state
viscosity.
4. The proposed slotted-disc MR brake designed with
a compression-assisted shear mode provides a bet-
ter performance.
Declaration of conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any fund-
ing agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit
sectors.
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Appendix 1
Detailed calculations
The volumes denoted volume 1 and volume A for given
dimensions (MR gap size h1 = 1 mm; rotor’s inner
radius r1 =10 mm; rotor’s outer radius r2 = 44 mm)
can be expressed as the total volume given by
V1 = VA


= p r22  r21 h1


= p 442  102 31
= 5767:96mm3
[ 5768mm3
After compression, the MR gap changes. The MR
gap in the compression zone is reduced to 0.2 mm. The
volume in the compression zone is given by


V2 = p r22  r21 h2


= p 442  102 30:2
= 1153:59mm3
[ 1154mm3
and the volume in the expansion zone is given by


VB = p r22  r21 h3


= p 442  102 31:8
= 10, 382:33mm3
[ 10, 382mm3
There are three slots in the disc, and the areas of
those slots reduce the shear area. The areas A1, A2 and
A3 of these slots may be expressed as
Sarkar and Hirani 17

r25  r24 VSiOil in Vv2 = 109:741mm3

A1 = u1
2
23  172 93p
2 MSiOil in Vv2 = 109:74137603106
= = 0:0834g
2 180
= 194:769mm2 Finally,
r2  r24
A2 = 5 u2 MCI in V2
2 MCI (%)inV2 =
MCI in V2 + Molacid in V2 + MSiOil in V2
232  172 87p 0:7387
= = 3100
2 180 0:7387 + 0:0093 + 0:0834
= 182:204mm2 = 88:85%
r25  r24 Molacid in V2
A3 = u3 Molacid (%) in V2 =
2 MCI in V2 + Molacid in V2 + MSiOil in V2
232  172 82p =
0:0093
3100
= 0:7387 + 0:0093 + 0:0834
2 180
= 1:12%
= 171:732mm2
MSiOil in V2
The total area As of the slots is MSiOil (%) in V2 =
MCI in V2 + Molacid in V2 + MSiOil in V2
0:0834
As = A1 + A2 + A3 = 3100
0:7387 + 0:0093 + 0:0834
= 548:705mm2 = 9:39%

The volume under compression, namely volume 2, i.e.

Therefore, in the compression zone, the final weight
the particles under compression, is
percentage of iron particles is 88.85 wt % for the disc
Vc2 = V2  As h2 with slots.
= 1154  ð548:70530:2Þ
= 1044:259mm3 Extension zone: disc with slots
It is assumed that the volume of silicone oil is in the
The volume of the slotted region of the disc is
extension zone according to
Vv2 = As h2
Vs = VSiOil (%)V1  Vv2
= 548:70530:2
= 0:935768  109:741
= 109:741mm3
= 5081:5mm3
The following should be noted.
Finally, in volume B after extension, the MR gap size
h3 is 1.8 mm. The final volume is
1. Vc2 contains CI particles and oleic acid with distri-
butions of 9 vol % and 1 vol % respectively.

VB = p r2 2  r1 2 h3
2. Vv2 contains only silicone oil.

= p 442  102 31:8
Therefore, = 10, 377:072mm3
VCI in Vc2 = VCI (%)Vc2 [10, 377:072mm3
= 0:0931044:259 Therefore,
3
= 93:98mm
VCI in VA = VCI (%)VA
= 93:983109 m3
= 0:0935768
MCI in Vc2 = 93:983109 37, 860, 000 = 519:12mm3
= 0:7387g
= 519:123109 m3
Volacid in Vc2 = Volacid (%)Vc2 VCI
= 0:0131044:259 VCI (%)inVB =
VB
= 10:442 59mm3 519:12
= 3100
Molacid in Vc2 = 10:442538953106 10, 377:072
= 0:0093g = 5%
VCI in VB = 519:123109 m3
which is negligible.

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18 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

MCI in VB = 519:123109 37, 860, 000 Therefore, in the extension zone, the final weight per-
= 4:08g centage of iron particles is 34.17 wt % for the
configurations.
Volacid in VB = Volacid (%)VB
= 0:0135768
Appendix 2
= 57:68mm3
Molacid in VB = 57:6838953106 Braking torque
= 0:0516g The braking torque for the disc with slots can be
expressed as
which is negligible.

VSiOil in VB = Vs + VSiOil (%)VA Torque on the single surface of the disc =

= 5081:5 + (0:9035768) ðfrictional force on the plane disc3radiusÞ
= 10, 273mm 3 ðtotal frictional force on the slots
MSiOil in VB = 10, 27337603106 of the disc3radiusÞ
= 7:81g Therefore,
Finally,
Torque on both the surfaces of the disc =
MCI in VB
MCI (%) in VB = 23ðfrictional force on the plane disc3radiusÞ
MCI in VB + Molacid in VB + MSiOil in VB
4:08 23ðtotal frictional force on the slots
= 3100
4:08 + 0:0516 + 7:81 of the disc3radiusÞ
= 34:17%

Molacid in VB Now the total area of the slots is As. The slot lies on the
Molacid (%) in VB = pitch circle which has a radius rs = (r4 + r5)/2.
MCI in VB + Molacid in VB + MSiOil in VB
0:0516 Therefore, the braking torque for the disc with slots
= 3100
4:08 + 0:0516 + 7:81 is
= 0:43%
4p 3
phv 4

MSiOil in VB T= r2  r31 t yd + r2  r41
MSiOil (%) in VB = 3 h
MCI in VB + Molacid in VB + MSiOil in VB  hrs v
=
7:81
3100
2 t yd rs + As
4:08 + 0:0516 + 7:81 h
= 65:40%

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