RHEOSHOX

Technology

What is an MR damper?

How it works

MR dampers are similar in construction to fluid viscous dampers and utilize MR fluids instead of hydraulic oil. They are widely used in machines, automobiles, and civil engineering applications due to their low power consumption, quick response, easy control, and adjustable damping force.

In an MR damper, the piston includes coils capable of delivering a magnetic field in the piston’s flow channels. The MR fluid changes its viscosity, from a liquid to a semi-solid, when subjected to a magnetic field.

In these terms, the piston acts as a “magnetorheological valve”, and the damping is the result of the friction between the fluid and the flow channel. By controlling the characteristics of the magnetic field, the damping behavior is easily adjustable without the need to change the mechanical setup of the system.

Design of the RHEOSHOX adaptive damping system, consisting of a piston rod with integrated magnetic stack, a Hall sensor, a seal, MR fluid in a closed chamber and an MR valve, a diaphragm, and a gas charge. The RHEOSHOX MR valve, also pictured, features an iron core, a coil, and an innovative flow channel/magnetic flux design.

What makes RHEOSHOX unique?

How we deliver higher performance, durability, safety & comfort

The difference lies within the valve design. RHEOSHOX uses a different coil orientation in the valve for a longer magnetized flow channel.

The channel diameter is also reduced through fins that decrease plug size at the end of each flow channel. Paired with our high-resolution sensor concept, RHEOSHOX is the only system that allows for real-time adaptivity.

Our patented valve design also delivers

increased performance
decreased energy consumption
reduced overall size of the system

Endless possibilities

Freely programmable damping characteristics

RHEOSHOX makes it possible to freely configure the damping behavior to perfectly address any situation. Its real-time adaptivity is the key to creating fully custom damper properties and not only shifting the damper curve in parallel between On and OFF State.

With RHEOSHOX, the compression and rebound characteristics can be set individually from each other. Even adjustments based on the dictated speed are possible. This allows the system to switch between predefined scenarios based on sensor readouts or its settings can be adjusted in real-time.

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Full power at 12 V

Low system requirements without performance compromises

RHEOSHOX adapts perfectly to the circumstances of any situation thanks to its fast response time, high dampening power, and precise level of control. But the system requires only a 12-volt power supply – regardless of system size and without performance compromises.

Real-time adaptivity

Without the need to look ahead

RHEOSOHX uses a patented Hall sensor with a resolution of 1 µm and a sample rate of 12 kHz. This is so fast, that we can detect movement and vibration changes at the moment they occur. It is also why we do not need to look ahead to adapt to any situation in real-time. But, this fast recognition is just the first step toward our real-time adaptivity.

The system only becomes real-time capable through the use of our MR technology. Through our valve design, we are able to create a magnetic field along the whole flow channel in about 3 ms. The iron particles in the MRF react to this magnetic field and narrow or even fully block the flow channels to change the damping behavior. This whole process barely takes 10 ms.

The combination of sensors paired with our valve design and the MR material is the key to our real-time adaptivity.

MR Materials

MR fluid exposed to a magnetic field. You can see how the particles link together, forming spikes that grow larger towards the center of the magnetic field.

Advanced features

The RHEOSHOX technology allows for so much more than motion control and reduced vibrations. Its real-time adaptivity paired with freely programmable damper characteristics enables revolutionary new features and advanced functionalities that open up entirely new possibilities and fields of application.