Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2026-1
Experimental evaluation of magneto-rheological devices for impact reduction control in gun recoil system using adaptive hybrid skyhook active force control
This paper presents experimental results for impact reduction of a gun recoil system equipped in a light-armoured military vehicle using a magneto-rheological (MR) device associated with a new adaptive hybrid skyhook active force control (HySAFC). The main motivation of this work is to resolve some drawbacks of conventional hydraulic damper system such as high maintenance cost, oil leakage and slow response by utilizing controllability of the impact intensity incorporating an appropriate controller. To address the solution of the problem, the MR device consists of two key components, namely MR elastomer isolator device (MREID) and MR fluid damper (MRFD) is proposed. Both devices are installed in parallel to the gun recoil system to achieve high performance: MREID (two stages of coil turns, five MRE layers with 2 mm thickness plates) and MRFD (RD-8040, Lord Corp.). Then, the HySAFC is formulated to unwanted vibration/shock caused from the impact force and implemented to the gun recoil system of a specially instrumented light-armoured vehicle. The effectiveness of the proposed vibration/shock control system is evaluated through hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS). It is demonstrated that the proposed MR device-based system with the adaptive HySAFC shows a promising potential to mitigate unwanted recoil energy up to 51% which is much higher than the conventional hydraulic damper system.
Abdul AzizMMuhtasimSAhammedR (2022) State-of-the-Art Recent Developments of Large Magnetorheological (MR) Dampers: A Review. Korean Society of Rheology, Australian Society of Rheology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-022-00021-2
2.
AhamedRChoiSBFerdausMM (2018) A state of art on magneto-rheological materials and their potential applications. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures29(10): 2051–2095.
3.
BaiXXJiangPQianLJ (2017) Integrated semi-active seat suspension for both longitudinal and vertical vibration isolation. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures28(8): 1036–1049.
4.
BaiX-XXinF-LQianL-J, et al. (2015) Design and control of a magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber for powertrain mount systems of automobiles. In: Proceedings of the ASME 2015 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, 2015, pp.1–8. http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/proceeding.aspx?doi=10.1115/SMASIS2015-8893
5.
BaiXFSenY (2019) Hybrid controller of magnetorheological semi-active seat suspension system for both shock and vibration mitigation. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures30(11): 1613–1628.
6.
BaiXXWereleyNM (2014) Magnetorheological impact seat suspensions for ground vehicle crash mitigation. In: Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems. Bellingham, WA: SPIE, 2014, pp.1–12.
7.
BaiXXYangS (2019) Hybrid controller of magnetorheological semi-active seat suspension system for both shock and vibration mitigation. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures30(11): 1613–1628.
8.
BastolaAKLiL (2018) A new type of vibration isolator based on magnetorheological elastomer. Materials and Design157: 431–436.
9.
BrancatiRDi MassaGPaganoS (2019) Investigation on the mechanical properties of MRE compounds. Machines7(36): 1–14.
10.
BrowneALMcClearyJDNamuduriCS, et al. (2009) Impact performance of magnetorheological fluids. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures20(6): 723–728.
11.
DanielCHemalathaGSaralaL, et al. (2020) Experimental investigation of a self-powered magnetorheological damper for seismic mitigation. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering54(1): 397–402.
12.
DuXYuMFuJ, et al. (2020) Experimental study on shock control of a vehicle semi-active suspension with magneto-rheological damper. Smart Materials and Structures29(7): 074002.
13.
GuXLiYLiJ (2016) Investigations on response time of magnetorheological elastomer isolator for real-time control implementation. Smart Materials and Structures25(11): 11LT04–11LT09.
14.
GuXYuYLiJ, et al. (2017) Semi-active control of magnetorheological elastomer base isolation system utilising learning-based inverse model. Journal of Sound and Vibration406(2017): 346–362.
15.
GuXLiJLiY (2019) Experimental realisation of the real-time controlled smart magnetorheological elastomer seismic isolation system with shake table. Structural Control and Health Monitoring27(1): 1–24.
16.
GuXYuYLiY, et al. (2019) Experimental study of semi-active magnetorheological elastomer base isolation system using optimal neuro fuzzy logic control. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing119: 380–398.
17.
HarunMHafizZahmaniQFHudhaK, et al. (2017) Stability enhancement of railway vehicle dynamics bogie-based skyhook control. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences12(14): 4219–4224.
18.
HarunMHAzhariMAYunosR (2018) Characterization of a magnetorheological fluid damper applied to semi-active engine mounting system. Journal of Mechanical Engineering5(3): 248–259.
19.
HudhaKHafizHMHanifHM, et al. (2011) Lateral suspension control of railway vehicle using semi-active magnetorheological damper. In: IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, 2011, pp. 728–733.
20.
IdrisMHImaduddinFMazlanSA (2020) A concentric design of a bypass magnetorheological fluid damper with a serpentine flux valve. Actuators9(16): 1–21.
21.
ImaduddinFMazlanSAUbaidillah (2017) Characterization and modeling of a new magnetorheological damper with meandering type valve using neuro-fuzzy. Journal of King Saud University - Science29(4): 468–477.
22.
KangB-HChoiS-B (2024) Design, structure analysis and shock control of aircraft landing gear system with MR damper. Smart Materials and Structures33(5): 055049.
23.
KangBHJoBHKimBG, et al. (2023) Linear and nonlinear models for drop simulation of an aircraft landing gear system with MR dampers. Actuators12(7).
24.
KavlicogluBLiuYWallisB, et al. (2020) Two-way controllable magnetorheological elastomer mount for shock and vibration mitigation. Smart Materials and Structures (2020): 1–9.
25.
KimSHYoonDSKimGW, et al. (2020) Road traveling test for vibration control of a wheel loader cabin installed with magnetorheological mounts. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures00(0): 1–13.
26.
KooJHGoncalvesFDAhmadianM (2004) Investigation of the response time of magnetorheological fluid dampers. In: Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Damping and Isolation, July2004, p. 63. IOP Publishing.
LengDWangXSunL, et al. (2017) Shock Attenuation Mechanisms of Magnetorheological Elastomers Absorbers: A Theoretical Analysis. Journal of Composite Materials51(5): 721–730.
29.
LengDSunLGordaninejadF, et al. (2015) The dynamic performance of magnetic-sensitive elastomers under impact loading. Smart Materials and Structures24(4): 45023.
30.
LiPDongXRanJ, et al. (2024) Performance evaluation of a novel semi-active absorption and isolation co-control strategy with magnetorheological seat suspension for commercial vehicle. Smart Materials and Structures33: 105016. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1088/1361-665x/ad70802024.
31.
LiYLiJ (2017) On rate-dependent mechanical model for adaptive magnetorheological elastomer base isolator. Smart Materials and Structures26(4): 1–15.
32.
LiYLiJ (2019) Overview of the development of smart base isolation system featuring magnetorheological elastomer. Smart Structures and Systems24(1): 37–52.
33.
LiRZhouMWuM, et al. (2018) Semi-Active predictive control of isolated bridge based on magnetorheological elastomer bearing. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University (Science)24(1): 64–70.
34.
LiRZhouMXuX, et al. (2018) Self-sensing characteristics experiment of modified magneto-rheological rubber bearing. In: Proceedings of SPIE, 27 March 2018, p. 1059810. DOI: 10.1117/12.2296523
35.
LiuJXuHYZhouCJ, et al. (2020) Model updating of gun recoil mechanism based on time domain response. Journal of Physics Conference Series1507(8): 082004.
36.
OuyangQHuHZhaoW, et al. (2020) Feasibility analysis of magnetorheological absorber in recoil systems: Fixed and field artillery. Frontiers in Materials7: 1–12. 7(August.
37.
PhanNHPatilSRGawadeS, et al. (2022) Design of ER damper for recoil length minimization: A case study on gun recoil system. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Materials31(1): 177–185.
38.
PhuDXMienVThanhTuPH, et al. (2020) A new optimal sliding mode controller with adjustable gains based on Bolza-Meyer criterion for vibration control. Journal of Sound and Vibration485: 115542.
39.
QianLJXinFLBaiXX, et al. (2017) State observation–based control algorithm for dynamic vibration absorbing systems featuring magnetorheological elastomers: Principle and analysis. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures28(18): 2539–2556.
40.
RahmatMSBadrulhisamNHShuhH, et al. (2023) A hybrid control scheme for magnetorheological elastomer under impact loading application. In: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Singapore: Springer, pp. 293–306.
41.
RahmatMSHudhaKAbd KadirZ, et al. (2020) Modelling and validation of magneto-rheological fluid damper behaviour under impact loading using interpolated multiple adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures16(6): 1395–1415.
42.
RahmatMSHudhaKAbd KadirZ, et al. (2021a) A hybrid skyhook active force control for impact mitigation using magneto-rheological elastomer isolator. Smart Materials and Structures30(2): 025043.
43.
RahmatMSHudhaKKadirZA, et al. (2019) Modelling and characterisation of a magneto-rheological elastomer isolator device under impact loadings using interpolated multiple adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system structure. International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity13(4): 215–241.
44.
RahmatMSHudhaKKadirZA, et al. (2021b) Vibration control of gun recoil system with magneto-rheological damper associated with adaptive hybrid skyhook active force control. Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering43(5): 1–17.
45.
RashediENezamabadi-pourHSaryazdiS (2009) GSA: a gravitational search algorithm. Information Sciences179(13): 2232–2248.
46.
RashediERashediENezamabadi-pourH (2018) A comprehensive survey on gravitational search algorithm. Swarm and Evolutionary Computation41(February): 141–158.
47.
SarimanMZHarunMHYaminAKM, et al. (2015) Magnetorheological fluid engine mounts: A review on structure design of semi active engine mounting. International Journal of Materials2: 76100.
48.
SinghHJWereleyNM (2014) Optimal control of gun recoil in direct fire using magnetorheological absorbers. Smart Materials and Structures23(5): 1–12.
49.
SobriNSHudhaKAbd KadirZ, et al. (2023) The effects of additive on the impact absorption capability of magnetorheological elastomer. Jurnal Teknologi85(4): 17–25.
50.
StreckerZRoupecJMazurekI, et al. (2015) Design of magnetorheological damper with short time response. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures26(14): 1951–1958.
51.
TianTNakanoM (2019) Fabrication and dynamic viscoelastic properties of MR elastomers with silicone oil. International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics59: 349–355.
52.
TürkücüTKeleşÖ (2018) Magneto-rheological engine mount design and experimental characterization. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology32(11): 5171–5178.
53.
UbaidillahUMazlanSASutrisnoJ, et al. (2016) Physicochemical properties and stress-strain compression behaviors of a waste based magnetorheological elastomers. Scientia Iranica23(3): 1144–1159.
54.
WangMLuDXuY, et al. (2024) Theoretical and experimental research on an optimal control for a magnetorheological shock mitigation system. Applied Sciences14(16): 7317.
55.
WangZChoiSB (2020) A fuzzy sliding mode control of anti-lock system featured by magnetorheological brakes: performance evaluation via the hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures00: 1–11.
56.
XuCXieFZhouR, et al. (2023) Vibration analysis and control of semi-active suspension system based on continuous damping control shock absorber. Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering45: 6–341.
57.
YarraSGordaninejadFBehroozM, et al. (2018) Performance of a large-scale magnetorheological elastomer–based vibration isolator for highway bridges. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures29(20): 3890–3901.
58.
ZhaoQWangKYuanJ, et al. (2024) Research on dynamic performance and mechanical model of a novel magnetorheological shear thickening damper with adaptive variable damping gap. Smart Materials and Structures33: 105030. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1088/1361-665x/ad77122024.
59.
ZhengJLiZKooJH, et al. (2015) Analysis and compensation methods for time delays in an impact buffer system based on magnetorheological dampers. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures26(6): 690–700.
60.
ZhuGLiZGuoH, et al. (2022) Dynamic modeling and vibration control for isolation systems based on magnetorheological elastomers. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures34(10): 1224–1236.
61.
ZhuMYuMQiS, et al. (2018) Investigations on response time of magnetorheological elastomer under compression mode. Smart Materials and Structures27(5): 055017–055111.
