The magneto-mechanical properties of off-axis anisotropic magnetorheological elastomers

Abstract Off-axis anisotropic magnetorheological (MR) elastomers with different particle chain orientations were investigated. Under the quasi-static and oscillatory shear excitation, the internal structure has significant effects on the mechanical response (initial modulus, magneto-induced modulus and magneto-deformation). The MR effect of the anisotropic MR elastomers could be increased by 127% through simply changing the particle chain orientation by 15° during the fabrication process. The experimental results were verified by using a modified magnetic dipole theoretical model. The magneto-induced torque and normal force of the anisotropic MR elastomers could be significantly affected by the orientation of particle chain, which had great guiding significance for practical applications. Moreover, the MR elastomer composites could achieve complex three-dimensional origami deformations under the external magnetic field. The capability to control the shape morphing of this off-axis anisotropic MR elastomer might open new opportunities for programming complex soft structures.