Abstract
An electro-rheological Gel (ERG) is developed to overcome two shortcomings of Electro-rheological Fluid (ERF): sedimentation of ER particles and the seal structure required to allow the use of ERF in machine elements. The ERG shows a wide shear stress variation in response to an applied electric field. To apply an electric field to the ERG, it is necessary to sandwich the ERG between plane-parallel electrodes. However, it is impractical to wire both electrodes to a high voltage supply. In this study, one-sided electrodes are proposed to simplify the wiring structure. The basic characteristics of ERG on one-sided electrodes are evaluated experimentally. It is found that these electrodes exhibit nearly the same performance as the conventional plane-parallel type. The one-sided ERG mechanism is especially useful in applications involving rotating or sliding parts.
