Study on the Effect of Magnetorheological Fluids (MRFs) on the Sealing Performance

The magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) seal has the advantages of suitability for significant sealing gaps, high sealing pressure resistance, and simple processing and manufacturing. It is essential to note that MRFs have a substantial effect on both the magnetic field distribution pattern within the seal gap and the pressure resistance of the seal. In this paper, we intend to investigate the effect of different MRFs on the sealing performance by a combined approach of numerical simulation and experimental validation. The results show that the presence of MRFs can significantly reduce the occurrence of magnetic leakage in the seal structure. From the distribution of magnetic lines in the seal gap, the distribution of magnetic flux lines in the seal gap formed by the pole shoe and the magnetic conductivity axis along the axis direction is the densest, i.e., the magnetic flux density is the strongest. In contrast, a lower magnetic flux density is present at the tooth groove. The pressure resistance of the MRFs seal gradually increases with an increasing volume fraction of magnetic particles in the MRFs.