ENERGY ABSORPTION AND DAMPING IN MAGNETOSTRICTIVE COMPOSITES

G. P. MCKNIGHT *, G. P. CARMAN **
*MAE Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, mcknight~i)seas.ucla.edu
** MAE Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, carmanCa)seas.ucla.edu

ABSTRACT

The mechanical energy absorption characteristics of several polymer matrix Terfenol-D

composites were evaluated experimentally. Magnetostrictive composites absorb energy through
domain level processes that couple mechanical and magnetic energies. The testing consisted of
mechanically cycling the materials at different stress amplitudes (combined compression and
tension) at a single frequency. Results indicate that the magnetostrictive composites exhibit a
unique combination of high damping properties in conjunction with a relatively high modulus.
The measured tan delta values for the materials are functionally dependent upon the stress
amplitude. In general, as the stress amplitude increased, the damping or energy absorbed during
one cycle decreased. Results also indicate that damping is directionally dependent (i.e.
anisotropic) and that bias magnetic fields decrease the energy absorption. The volume fraction
of the composites did not play a significant role in the magnitude of damping. This effect may
be related to the inherent pre-stress imparted on the particle by the resin during cure.

INTRODUCTION

New structural damping materials are desired for many applications including aerospace,
automotive, and sporting goods. Brodt and Lakes [1] indicate that current damping materials
lack the combination of both high stiffness and high loss characteristics. Previously considered
materials are best represented by the class of visco-elastic materials (VEM). However, VEMs
have limited stiffness values, reduced thermal operating ranges, and are frequency dependent.
These limitations are linked to the molecular nature of the mechanism producing hysteresis (i.e.
damping) within a VEM. A new class of damping materials, magnetostrictive composites, offers
several distinct advantages when compared to VEMs. Magnetostrictive materials absorb energy
(i.e. have hysteresis) through a magnetic domain level mechanism rather than through molecular
chain interactions. The magnetostrictive components have relatively high stiffness, high-energy
absorption, and can be used over relatively broad temperature ranges. While the
magnetostrictive composites offer substantial improvements, detailed data describing its
damping properties do not exist. Therefore, a research effort needs to evaluate the damping
properties of magnetostrictive composites.
Hathaway et al. first discussed the use of magnetostrictive materials (i.e. Terfenol-D) for
damping in 1996 [2-3]. The authors [2] described the use of domain level motion as a
fundamental energy absorption mechanism in a magnetostrictive material under mechanical
loading. The authors predicted [2] that the energy absorption in a magnetostrictive material
depends on the stress magnitude in the material and is relatively independent of frequency. The
reason for this behavior is related to the finite number of stable magnetic configurations within
the crystal structure of a magnetostrictive material. The application of stress along one plane of
the crystal lowers the energy barrier causing movement of the magnetic moment within the
material. At a critical stress level, the magnetization may "jump" from one stable orientation to
another, in a non-reversible energy absorbing process. Hathaway et al, make the important
argument that this energy absorption process is fundamentally different than that of magnetic
hysteresis, where pinning of domain walls and their irreversible movement though the crystal is

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Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 604 C 2000 Materials Research Society
responsible for most of the magnetic energy loss. Another important argument to consider is that
the application of mechanical stress to a magnetostrictive material does not influence 180'
domain walls. This is in sharp contrast to magnetic field induced hysteresis where 180' domain
walls account for a large portion of the magnetic energy absorbed.
In addition to analysis, Hathaway et al. [3] conducted experimental work on a
homogeneous Terfenol-D specimen. The tests consisted of applying a saturating magnetic field
to the specimen followed by a mechanical load. The saturating field was applied to rotate the
magnetic domains predominantly parallel to the loading direction. Domain alignment could
have also been achieved by applying a tensile mechanical load. However, the monolithic form
of Terfenol-D is brittle and would easily fracture under tensile loading. Results of Hathaway et
al. [3] indicate that the material exhibits a large single cycle damping behavior characterized by a
maximum Q factor of 0.28 at a stress amplitude of 5 MPa. However, the single cycle damping
limitation significantly reduces the usefulness of the material as a damper. We believe that a
composite sample could be used to overcome this limitation. In a composite, the domains could
be aligned with a tensile load eliminating the need for an external magnetic field.
Work on polymer matrix magnetostrictive composites has focused on improving the high
frequency performance of Terfenol-D transducers by eliminating eddy currents losses [4-6].
Researchers report results with frequency performances in excess of 10 kHz [6], representing an
order of magnitude improvement over the monolithic Terfenol-D. In addition to enhanced
bandwidths, the composite is also significantly more durable than the monolithic, permitting
complex mechanical loads such as tension, shear, and impact loading to be supported, rather than
simple compression, as is the case for the monolithic. These and other properties support the
proposition that magnetostrictive composites could be used in damping applications where the
loading is generally a complex state of bending or shear. An additional advantage of composite
materials for damping applications is that the stiffness of the composite can be tailored by
changing the volume fraction of the constituent materials [5]. Thus, one can impedance match
the material for a specific application to maximize energy transfer into the damping material.

EXPERIMENTAL

Mechanical testing of composite magnetostrictive materials was performed on five

composite specimens. Each of the specimens was tested at several load amplitudes to investigate
the effect of mechanical load on the damping properties. Unless otherwise specified, a magnetic
field was not applied prior to or during the mechanical loading cycle. The specimens were tested
in cyclic loading from tension to compression in an attempt to maximize the damping properties
of the material (i.e. maximize magnetic domain motion). However, due to the preload imparted
on the particulate by the resin during cure, the values reported in this manuscript should not be
viewed as maximum damping values.
The specimens were prepared using a low viscosity vinyl ester resin system that cures at
room temperature and has a mix viscosity of 100 centipoise. The Terfenol-D magnetostrictive
particles consisted of a poly-distribution mixture with all particles less than 300 microns in
length. The particles were of varying shape due to the ball milling process used to create the
particles from the bulk material. In general, the particles were jagged and difficult to wet
properly. To overcome this problem, the particles were coated with a solution of vinyl ester
polymer prior to their introduction into the composite. The coated particles and resin were
mixed and repeatedly degassed to remove unwanted trapped air. The specimens were placed in a
static magnetic field produced by two large rare earth permanent magnets, and the resin allowed
to cure. The static magnetic field aligns the particles into chains and creates an anisotropic
particle distribution. For discussion purposes the aligned particles were treated as fibers with a

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 compression

composite connectivity of 1-3. Three specimens containing particle volume fractions of 20, 30,
and 50 percent were produced with the particle aligned in the direction of loading (0 degree
composite). One sample (20% Vf) was produced with the particles aligned perpendicular to the
direction of loading (90 degree composite) to examine the influence of particle alignment on the
damping properties. One resin sample was also manufactured without particles to determine the
properties of the polymer alone.
A
V COMoression
I'

tension/
V compression
a
Figure 1 - Experimental setup for tension-compression loading of specimen within solenoid.

The specimens were tested in tension and compression using a hydraulic testing machine
operated in load control mode. Each specimen was instrumented with two axial bidirectional
strain gages and a flux pick-up coil (Figure 1). The magnetic field was created using a water-
cooled solenoid. Steel pushrods were used to load the approximately 2.5 x 1.0 x 1.0 cm
specimens within the solenoid. The specimens were mounted in a butt joint configuration that
limited the tensile stress to less than 16 MPa (Figure 1). This stress amplitude (i.e. 16 MPa) was
considered to be sufficiently high to align a significant portion of the domains with the loading
direction. The amplitude of the compressive stress was similar in absolute magnitude to the
tensile stress for all tests. The precision of the load cell limited the smallest mechanical load
range to be 2 MPa peak to peak. All testing was performed at a frequency of 1 Hz to reduce
frequency effects from the results and minimize the damping contributions from the polymer
resin. The main purpose of these tests was to investigate the energy absorption of the
magnetostrictive composite due to domain movement.

RESULTS/DISCUSSION

Mechanical testing produced stress-strain hysteresis plots for each loading amplitude.
Figure 2 displays sample results for three composites tested. The hysteresis loops were generally
ellipsoid with a transition to a more s-shaped curve as stress amplitude increased. The
experimental data was reduced using an analytical procedure typical for VEM's. A complex
modulus model was fitted to the data and yielded both real and imaginary components of
Young's modulus. These values were used to determine the energy absorption in the material.
The complex modulus may be derived by assuming a phase lag in time between loading and
displacement in a material commonly referred to as delta. The ratio of the imaginary to the real
modulus is the tangent of this phase lag angle and is used to compare the relative damping
performance of different materials.

269
 Figure 3 presents an overall comparison of the materials tested. The graphs illustrate the
variation in damping property (tan delta) with strain (stress) amplitude. Strain was chosen as the
appropriate metric to plot, since the stress on the particle is different from the macroscopic stress.
However, based on the 1-3 composite assumption, the macroscopically measured strain is the
same as the particle strain. The graph shows a comparison of all materials tested and reveals that
generally each of the materials with aligned particles exhibit high damping at low stress/strain
amplitudes and slowly decrease with increasing stress/strain amplitudes. The damping property
of the vinyl ester baseline material demonstrates that the resin contribution is small. Curiously,
the particle volume fraction did not play a significant role in the magnitude of damping in each
composite. A possible explanation for this behavior is the non-uniform pre-stress imparted on
the particles by the resin during fabrication. The maximum magnitude of damping, while
relatively high, is still well below the theoretical limit predicted by Hathaway [2]. Again, it is
believed that this may be attributed to the residual stress state in the particles after fabrication
and may be improved by changing the resin system used for the matrix material.
The decreasing trend of damping with increasing stress (or strain) has been predicted by
Hathaway [2] and is due to the relatively low magnetic anisotropy of Terfenol-D at zero applied
stress. Higher magnetic anisotropy will shift the maximum damping properties to higher
stress/strain amplitudes. Conversely, by tailoring the pre-load induced on the particulate during
cure, the "optimum" stress/strain amplitude can be shifted. In each randomly oriented domain a
critical applied stress reduces the energy barrier from one stable crystal orientation to another.
This jumping process is non-reversible and absorbs a specific amount of energy for each domain
jumping process. After a domain has jumped, it will behave elastically unless an opposite
critical stress is applied which can cause it to jump back to the original stable configuration.

8*
0.0 6

I ..
2-
4-

-800 .4400 S-1200

800 1200

20%T-D 50%T-D .8
-10
40% T-D
strain (ppm)

Figure 2 - Typical raw stress-strain hysteresis plot for the array of specimens tested at similar maximum
stress loadings.

Results in Figure 3 also indicate that the damping produced by a specimen containing
particles aligned perpendicular to the direction of loading was substantially smaller than when
the particles were aligned with the loading direction. In fact, the damping property of the 20%
perpendicular specimen was only slightly larger than the matrix material. This can be explained
by approximating the particulate composite as a continuous fiber 1-3 composite with the load
applied perpendicular to the fibers. Using this analogy, we can argue that the stress (not the
strain) in the particles is approximately equal to that of the matrix and the rest of the composite.
This is in sharp contrast to the loading of a composite in the direction of the fiber where most of

270
the load is supported by the fiber. For this later case, the stress in the particles is substantially
higher than the overall composite stress. The additional stress in the magnetostrictive material
allows magnetization jumping to occur in a larger fraction of particles and thus more energy to
be absorbed in the composite with particles aligned with the loading direction. This argument
asserts that the particle stress in the 20% perpendicular aligned composite was below the critical
stress required for magnetization jumping. These results also reveal the anisotropic damping
behavior exhibited by the composites. This is a major departure from traditional visco-elastic
materials, which are typically isotropic. Non-isotropic materials imply that dampers can be
designed with directional damping properties proportional to the load level.
The effects of applying a constant magnetic field during cyclic loading was also
investigated using a solenoid mounted around the test setup. Figure 4 presents the results of this
test on a 40% volume fraction composite. The composite specimen was tested at constant stress
amplitude of 8 MPa for all field strengths. Results reveal that the total magneto-elastic damping
decreases as the applied field increases. At large magnetic field levels, the damping depends
only on the polymer matrix component. In general, we believe that the application of the field
does not decrease the damping capacity of the material but shifts the critical stress level to a
higher value. Detailed tests were not performed to fully evaluate this supposition, but this result
is suggested since it could provide a mechanism to produce a stress-level-activated damping
material. Again this is another fundamental difference between magnetic and visco-elastic
material damping.

0.12
0 20/6 T-D
0.1 - ,! 00 0 40% T-D
0o.0o 0 E9>
0 0500 %19T-D
V
C
0.06 - o o0 x2 p.-
'0.04 n 0
0.02 -- - X- - -
vinyl ester baseline

0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400

maximum strain (ppm)

Figure 3 - Comparison loss tangent of magnetostrictive composites plotted against maximum strain in the
material. Note the general decreasing trend in energy absorption with Increasing strain/stress.

0.06
1040 %T-13
0.06 - 0
• 0.04
C 0

0.02 ba - -_-- -
viny ester baseline

0 0.5 1.5 2

approximate field (kOe)

Figure 4 - Effect of an external bias field on the loss tangent for a 40% Vr Terfenol-D composite.

271
CONCLUSION

In summary, the damping properties of polymer matrix magnetostrictive materials have

been evaluated using mechanical testing. Terfenol-D particulate polymer matrix composites
present a combination of high energy absorption and high stiffness. The materials possess a tan
delta of 0.1 at low stress amplitudes. However, this value is well below the theoretical prediction
for Terfenol-D [2] which may be attributed to the residual stress state in the particle produced
during processing. The magnitude of damping in the materials decreases as the stress amplitude
increases. This result was predicted theoretically by Hathaway et al. [2] and is a result of the low
magnetic anisotropy in Terfenol-D at zero applied stress and field. In addition, the damping was
found to be a strong function of the material loading direction because of the composite's
anisotropic properties. Thus, the preparation of directionally selective dampers is now possible.
Finally, the application of a constant bias magnetic field was found to decrease the damping.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors of this paper gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/Air Force Research Lab monitored by Keith
Denoyer at AFRL.

REFERENCES

1. M. Brodt and R.S. Lakes, Journal of Composite Materials 14, 1823-1833 (1995)
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3. K.B. Hathaway, A.E. Clark, J.P. Teter, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 26A,
2797-2801 (1995)
4. L. Sandlund, M. Fahlander, T. Cedell, A.E. Clark, J.B. Restorff, M. Wun-Fogle, Journal of
Applied Physics 75, 5656-5658 (1994)
5. T.A. Duenas and G.P. Carman, 1998 ASME, Anaheim CA, AD 57, MD 83, 63-73 (1998)
6. J.H. Goldie, M.J. Gerver, J. Olesky, G.P. Carman, T.A. Duenas, 1999 SPIE, Newport Beach
CA, 3675, 223-235 (1999)

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