This dissertation presents a new shear and flow mode ER damper which available to controls damping force using the Discrete Multi-Electrode. We manufactured two type of ER damper to study their characteristic in a prototype model. We assuned that various characteristic of damping force would be shown through the experiment of ER cluster behavior visualization experiment and measurement of pressure in electrode length and voltage division mode. We selected optimal electrode length by conducting a fundamental experiment and then the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper was designed using the resulting data. We also conducted performance experiment and simulation to evaluate the damping force a classified by voltage division mode of the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper. We applied a classified by voltage division damping force of the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper to quarter car system by voltage division damping force and we obtained the result of passive simulation passive and active sky-hook control with ER damper through the AMESim. The subject and conclusions are explained below.
(1) We understood the new characteristics of ER with an electrode length and voltage division mode in shear and flow through the discrete Multi-Electrode.
(2) Experiments classified by electrode length, and voltage division using the Discrete Multi-Electrode proved that various damping characteristic exist and that they do not exist in a single body.
(3) Shear mode of the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper experiment, when oscillated, proved that the damping-effect can be obtained from voltage division though different from the damping force required by tension and compression in the plant.
(4) Experiments and simulations using the flow mode of the Discrete Multi-Electrode proved that the damping force, which depended on flow variations of ER fluid, was controlled through the voltage division mode.
(5) If the damping force was previously designated Through the voltage division of the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper, the system was sequentially controlled without the controller.
(6) When new type of ER damper was applied to the quarter car system through the AMESim, we demonstrated that the damping effect and desired output were within desired.
In the future, we will develop an actuator using a damping effect through the Discrete Multi-Electrode ER damper which will control the damping force using the displacement and velocity of the plant consisting of the various electrode length and voltage modes without a controller in the real system.