Characteristics of Controllable Vibration-proof Mount Using Liquid Crystal

Abstract

This paper deals with a controllable small vibration-proof mount designed for precision devices equipped on cars and other transportation vehicles. The properties of this mount can be controlled by the applied electric field strength, and this is one of application studies of electrorheological (ER) fluid. In this study, liquid crystal was selected as ER fluid. Liquid crystal is a homogeneous organic compound characterized by molecular orientation responsding to external electric or magnetic field, and because of molecular orientation, its viscosity can be varied by the applied electric field. In the present paper, a mount of small size designed for mass-produced vehicles is constructed and its performance was investigated. It is shown experimentally that the vibration amplitude of a mass supported by the present mount can be decreased by changing the damping properties.