Modeling the effect of softening in magnetoactive elastomers

Abstract

Magnetoactive elastomers (MAE) are composites in which a polymer matrix is filled with microparticles of an isotropic ferromagnet with a low coercive force. The functionality of such materials is due to their ability to change the structure under the influence of an external magnetic field and is determined by the interaction of particles and a matrix on mesoscopic (the order of particle size) scales. In MAE, the effect of softening has been experimentally observed. This effect consists in the fact that in the range of deformations from 0,1 to 1%, the effective modulus of elasticity of the material drops sharply. This work looks into the development of a simple numerical model that qualitatively describes this softening effect. The formation of a chain of particles in an applied magnetic field and its destruction under the action of tensile and compressive mechanical forces are considered. The obtained results clarified the mechanisms of softening in MAE.