This paper considers the design of electrorheological (ER) particles. Multi-coated particles suspended in insulating (very weakly conducting) oil are recommended for obtaining high-performance ER suspensions. Only the outer two coatings determine the ER strength. The outermost coating should be a material with high dielectric constant, high electrical breakdown strength and a reasonable level of conductivity. The coating immediately below should be a highly conducting material. The inner coatings, including the core (which can be void), can be of any material having such a density that the composite particle has substantially the same density as the host liquid. Our analysis gives that multi-coated particles can have an ER shear strength as high as 29kPa when the volume fraction of particles is 0.4 and the applied field is 5kV mm-1. Results in the literature provide support for the concept and analysis.

Two sizes (6 and 100 μm average diameter) glass spheres suspended in silicone oil (volume fraction Ф=0.3) were used to investigate the influence of particle size on electrorheological response at a shear rate 2s-1. The larger particles gave a higher shear yield stress but a lower current density at zero shear than the smaller ones. When the two particle sizes were mixed together, the shear yield stress decreased, reaching a minimum when the volume fraction of the small particles equals that of the large particles. The minimum in the current density occurred when the ratio of the volume of small to large particles was ～1/3.

A conduction model is developed for the dc electrorheological (ER) response of highly conducting particles (e.g., metal particles) suspended in a weakly conducting oil. The numerical analyses show that a surface film with some conductivity is desired, but not a completely insulating film as previously proposed. Increasing the film conductivity leads to an increase in the ER yield stress. However, too high a conductivity will give an unacceptable level of current density. The film should also have an intermediate thickness. A small thickness increases the possibility of electrical breakdown in the film; too large a thickness decreases the ER effect. Good agreement exists between the yield stress and the current density predicted by our model and those measured.

A method was developed for the frequency dependence of the electrorheological (ER) response of suspensions of highly conducting particles with a low conducting surface film. At dc or low frequency ac field, the shear yield stress of the ER fluids considered is determined by the conductivity ratio σI/σf of the film to the host oil; at high frequency ac field it is determined by the permittivity ratio єI/єf. The critical frequency separating the conduction domain from the dielectric domain is proportional to σf/єf, the ratio of the conductivity to the permittivity of the host oil. To obtain a high shear yield stress at high frequency ac field, a high ratio of the permittivity of the surface film to the oil is desired and a reasonably thin surface film. Too thin a film increases the possibility of electrical breakdown in the film especially at a small ratio of єI/єf. An effective method for overcoming electrical breakdown in the surface film is to increase the permittivity of the film. Good agreement exists between the measured shear yield stress, current density, and the applied breakdown field for oxidized aluminum particles suspended in silicone oil and those predicted by the present model. Recommendations are given for the design of ER fluids with high yield strength and reasonable current density.