A Novel Rotary Magneto-Rheological Damper for Haptic Interfaces

Abstract

Haptic interfaces require lightweight, small actuators with high force capability and low friction. In this paper, based on the structure of conventional shear mode disc and drum type MR fluid dampers, a lightweight continuous rotary MR damper working in valve mode is designed for haptic interfaces. The proposed design is compared to shear mode disc-type and drum-type designs with similar torque-to mass ratio via computer simulations. Mathematical models for the resistant torques of both the shear mode and the valve mode are derived. Subsequently, the finite element analysis of electromagnetic circuit calculations was carried out by FEMM software to perform an optimization of the dimensions of the parts such as gap size and thickness. It is shown that the proposed continuous rotary valve mode MR damper is a fine candidate that meets the requirements of haptic interfaces.