The Torque Capacity of a Magnetorheological Fluid Brake Compared to a Frictional Disk Brake

In this technical brief, the authors compare the torque capacity of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid brake with a conventional frictional disk brake. In the development of the torque models for both brakes, a mathematical expression for the compared torque ratio is presented. For the frictional disk brake, constant pressure and constant wear theories are considered, while static torque of the MR fluid brake is considered for comparison purpose only. Throughout the analysis, the outer radius of the compared brakes is assumed to be the same to ensure similarity of size, while the inner radius is selected to achieve maximum values of braking torque for both brake designs. Reasonable values of design variables for each brake are obtained from references and adopted in this study for making comparisons between the two designs. In conclusion, it is shown that the torque capacity for a frictional disk brake is 10–18 times greater than the torque capacity for a MR fluid brake of similar size.