Engineering Applications of Electrorheological Materials

This article provides a summary of the current state of electrorheological (ER) material applications research and development. The use of ER materials in a variety of intelligent material systems is covered. A description of basic material configurations used in controllable system components, as well as a discussion of controllable devices such as antivibration mounts, clutches, and dampers, is presented. More recent developments in the area of ER material adaptive structures are then reviewed. Concepts underlying such structures are presented, and models that have been developed to simulate the response of such structures are summarized. Throughout the ar ticle, an attempt is made to identify current and future key areas of research and development in ER material applications technology.