Experimental verification of sensing capability of an electromagnetic induction system for an MR fluid damper-based control system

This paper investigates the sensing capability of an Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) system that is incorporated in a vibration control system based on MR fluid dampers. The EMI system, consisting of permanent magnets and coils, converts reciprocal motions (kinetic energy) of MR damper into electrical energy (electromotive force or emf). According to the Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, the emf signal, produced from the EMI, is proportional to the velocity of the motion. Thus, the induced voltage (emf) signal is able to provide the necessary measurement information (i.e., relative velocity across the damper). In other words, the EMI can act as a sensor in the MR damper system. In order to evaluate the proposed concept of the EMI sensor, an EMI system was constructed and integrated into an MR damper system. The emf signal is experimentally compared with the velocity signal by conducting a series of shaking table tests. The results show that the induced emf voltage signal well agreed with the relative velocity.