Using magnets for metamorphosis

A team of faculty at Penn State Altoona has been awarded a $179,859 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop microwire-based magnetorheological (MR) fluids. Richard Bell (chemistry), Darin Zimmerman (physics) and Andrew Vavreck (engineering) comprise the multidisciplinary team whose research will improve MR fluids, which can be rapidly changed from a liquid to a solid by applying a magnetic field. 

MR fluids have been used in many mechanical devices, including brakes, actuators, and shock and vibration absorbers, but current MR fluids are made with tiny iron spheres dispersed in oil and are prone to separation. The team will develop MR fluids with rod-shaped metal particles which have been shown in preliminary work to dramatically improve settling performance. This will help open new opportunities to use the special fluid.

The project will include collaborators at the Materials Research Institute at Penn State and at the University of Maryland as well as several undergraduate research assistants at Penn State Altoona.

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