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Actuators
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Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and...
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Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuator Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 4626

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ramin Sedaghati

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada
Interests: smart materials; adaptive structures; magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) and magnetorheological elastomers (MREs); MRE- and MRF-based structures and systems; adaptive vibration absorbers and isolators; smart composite and sandwich structures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Norman M. Wereley

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, 3179J Martin Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Interests: active, semi-active and passive vibration control; adaptive crashworthiness systems for helicopters and automobiles; magneto-rheological energy absorbers and fluids; smart pneumatic systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Subhash Rakheja

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada
Interests: characterization and modeling of magnetorheological (MR) fluids and elastomers; hysteresis; active vibration control and testing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue (dedicated to the ERMR2025 Conference) aims to highlight the latest advancements in the field of Electrorheological (ER) and Magnetorheological (MR) materials, focusing on their design, control and diverse industrial applications. These smart materials, which exhibit rapid and reversible changes in their mechanical properties when exposed to external electric and magnetic fields, are paving the way for transformative advancements, in industries ranging from the automotive and robotics industries to aerospace, healthcare and civil infrastructures. The contributions to this Special Issue reflect innovative research on the design, synthesis and characterization of ER and MR materials. In addition, the Issue explores recent progress in control mechanisms, material behavior modeling, and integration into real-world applications. The ability to manipulate the mechanical properties of these functional materials in real-time offers immense potential in areas such as adaptive suspension systems, haptic technologies, adaptive vibration absorbers and isolators, electro- and magneto-soft robotics, and adaptive prosthetics. This Special Issue welcomes contributions on all aspects of ER and MR material including, but not limited to, the following areas: 

  • Electrorheological (ER) fluids: materials and physical properties;
  • Electrorheological gels and elastomers;
  • Ferrofluids: materials and applications;
  • Magneto-active soft robotics and actuators;
  • Magneto-active metamaterials;
  • Magnetorheological (MR) suspensions: materials and characteristics;
  • MR elastomers and gels: materials and physical properties;
  • MR- and ER-based adaptive vibration absorbers and isolators;
  • Aerospace and ground technologies featuring MR and ER materials;
  • Stimuli-responsive bio-materials and colloids;
  • Emerging stimuli-responsive materials including graphene, graphene oxide, LC, Pickering, and new types of magnetic particles;
  • Smart fluid-based energy saving and harvesting;
  • ER and MR polishing;
  • Engineering applications of ER and MR materials;
  • Innovative techniques in magnetic actuation: Helmholtz and Maxwell coils;
  • Medical and pharmaceutical applications of ER and MR materials;
  • Other related field-responsive systems.

Prof. Dr. Ramin Sedaghati
Prof. Dr. Norman M. Wereley
Prof. Dr. Subhash Rakheja
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electrorheological (ER) and magnetorheological Materials (MR), ER- and MR-based adaptive systems and structures
  • fabrication, characterization and modeling of ER and MR materials
  • magneto-active soft robotic actuators
  • ER- and MR-based energy harvesting devices
  • electro- and magneto-active metamaterials

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2451 KB  
Article
Design of an Elbow Magnetorheological Rehabilitation Orthosis for Patients with Spasticity
by Henri Pagé, Carolane Guay-Tanguay, François Michaud, Dominic Létourneau, David Orlikowski, Gilbert Pradel, Sébastien Charles and Jean-Sébastien Plante
Actuators 2026, 15(3), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/act15030158 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 260
Abstract
Stroke survivors with spasticity, an involuntary increase in muscle tone, often struggle to access specialized equipment and medical support for their rehabilitation. Rehabilitation exercises are daily routines requiring patients to perform repetitive movements of their spastic joints. To reduce patient mobilization within hospitals, [...] Read more.
Stroke survivors with spasticity, an involuntary increase in muscle tone, often struggle to access specialized equipment and medical support for their rehabilitation. Rehabilitation exercises are daily routines requiring patients to perform repetitive movements of their spastic joints. To reduce patient mobilization within hospitals, offering orthoses suitable for use in home settings, outside of clinical environments, is required to limit the involvement of healthcare personnel in the treatment of hemiparesis for patients. Such orthoses must be designed to be portable and be able to tolerate the erratic motions of spasms without breaking or injuring patients. This paper presents the use of magnetorheological actuators to design an elbow orthosis, improving weight, reactivity, and transparence necessary for effective rehabilitation of spastic patients. A prototype is designed, built, and characterized experimentally. Results suggest that the technology is lightweight and highly transparent to erratic motion, and thus well-suited for spastic patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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14 pages, 3718 KB  
Article
Miniature Magnetorheological Fluid Device Using Cylindrical Rotor for Handheld Haptic Interface
by Asahi Higashiguchi, Isao Abe and Takehito Kikuchi
Actuators 2026, 15(2), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/act15020101 - 4 Feb 2026
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are composite materials composed of ferromagnetic particles, medium oils, and several types of additives. MR fluids are particularly suitable for haptic applications, because their rheological properties can be rapidly, stably, and reversibly controlled using an applied magnetic field, MR fluids [...] Read more.
Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are composite materials composed of ferromagnetic particles, medium oils, and several types of additives. MR fluids are particularly suitable for haptic applications, because their rheological properties can be rapidly, stably, and reversibly controlled using an applied magnetic field, MR fluids are particularly suitable for haptic applications. Moreover, with recent advances in virtual reality technologies, handheld haptic interfaces that offer high portability and operability, owing to their lightweight and compact design, have become increasingly important for enhancing immersion in teleoperation systems. In this study, we design and develop a miniature MR fluid device for handheld haptic interfaces using a cylindrical rotor. The proposed device is compact and light, and exhibits a high output. We analyzed the magnetic field distribution inside the device using an analytical model and confirmed that the serpentine magnetic flux path effectively increased the magnetic flux density in the MR fluid working region. According to the experimental characterization, the device generated a maximum torque of 0.3 Nm. The resulting interface had a total mass of 122 g and provided a maximum force of 4.5 N to the user, demonstrating its suitability for teleoperation and virtual reality applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 3563 KB  
Article
Development and Performance Validation of a Magnetorheological Damper for Passenger Cars Featuring Ball Screw and MR Brake
by Hieu Minh Diep, Zy-Zy Hai Le, Tri Bao Diep and Quoc Hung Nguyen
Actuators 2026, 15(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/act15010017 - 31 Dec 2025
Viewed by 613
Abstract
This paper introduces a novel Magnetorheological (MR) damper integrated with a ball-screw mechanism (SMRB damper) that is designed to unify translational and rotational motions for enhanced automotive suspension performance. While shear-mode rotary MR dampers offer excellent responsiveness and stability, prior designs face persistent [...] Read more.
This paper introduces a novel Magnetorheological (MR) damper integrated with a ball-screw mechanism (SMRB damper) that is designed to unify translational and rotational motions for enhanced automotive suspension performance. While shear-mode rotary MR dampers offer excellent responsiveness and stability, prior designs face persistent issues such as high off-state torque, structural complexity, or limited damping force. The proposed damper aims to overcome these limitations. Its design and operating principle are presented, followed by the development of a mathematical model based on the Bingham-plastic formulation and finite element analysis. To maximize damping capability, the key structural parameters are optimized using an Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) algorithm. Finally, a prototype is fabricated based on the optimized results, and experimental tests validate its performance against simulation predictions, demonstrating its improved potential for vibration control applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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20 pages, 4884 KB  
Article
Research on a Passive-Tuned Magnetorheological Damper for Whole-Spacecraft Vibration Isolation
by Lifan Wu, Xiaomin Dong, Kaixiang Wang, Jialong Wang, Xiangcheng Fang and Huan Zhou
Actuators 2025, 14(12), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14120600 - 8 Dec 2025
Viewed by 562
Abstract
During the launch phase of a carrier rocket, the spacecraft carried by the rocket will be subjected to strong vibrations from the rocket body. Therefore, based on the special working conditions during the rocket launch phase, a passive-tuned magnetorheological (PT-MR) damper using the [...] Read more.
During the launch phase of a carrier rocket, the spacecraft carried by the rocket will be subjected to strong vibrations from the rocket body. Therefore, based on the special working conditions during the rocket launch phase, a passive-tuned magnetorheological (PT-MR) damper using the magnetorheological (MR) composite was proposed, which achieves stable and efficient operational performance using permanent magnets (PMs). Firstly, the influence of squeeze mode on the performances of the MR composite was analyzed for different vibration conditions. Then, by analyzing the squeeze strengthening effect of the MR composite and the influence of non-uniform radial gap size on the damping force, the mechanical model of the proposed damper was derived. Furthermore, the damper prototype was fabricated and its mechanical properties were tested, and the test results showed that the proposed damper can generate a damping force exceeding 800 N. Finally, the vibration isolation effectiveness of the proposed damper was verified from a system perspective by building the simulation model of whole-spacecraft vibration isolation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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15 pages, 15023 KB  
Article
Soft MRE Gripper: Preliminary Study
by Denys Gutenko, Janusz Gołdasz, Bogdan Sapiński and Paweł Orkisz
Actuators 2025, 14(12), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14120585 - 2 Dec 2025
Viewed by 670
Abstract
Soft robotics focuses on the imitation of the work of living organisms and mostly utilizes soft deformable materials for actuation or object manipulation tasks. Soft robots or grippers can be used for tasks which are beyond the reach of conventional rigid body ones. [...] Read more.
Soft robotics focuses on the imitation of the work of living organisms and mostly utilizes soft deformable materials for actuation or object manipulation tasks. Soft robots or grippers can be used for tasks which are beyond the reach of conventional rigid body ones. Recently, soft flexible robotic grippers have attracted research and engineering interest. A variety of materials and actuation technologies incl. magnetorheological (MR) materials have been used for developing grippers for grasping and object manipulation purposes. In this proof-of-concept study, the authors propose a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) based gripper concept that deforms when subjected to magnetic field, thus adapting to objects of various shapes and sizes. With the prototype, a reduction in the closing area by a factor of four was achieved. To realize the assumed goals, a prototype of the gripper was designed, built, and tested, and its behaviour was evaluated, focusing on its adaptability and identification of the opening/closing current levels. Moreover, a contactless CV (computer vision)-based method was developed for the purpose of assessment of the prototype’s operation. The experiments involved the handling of cylindrical and cubic objects, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the operation is repeatable, and with no visible degradation of the flexible casing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 4547 KB  
Article
Semi-Active Vibration Controllers for Magnetorheological Fluid-Based Systems via Frequency Shaping
by Young T. Choi, Norman M. Wereley and Gregory J. Hiemenz
Actuators 2025, 14(9), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14090425 - 30 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1189
Abstract
This study introduces novel semi-active vibration controllers for magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based vibration control systems, specifically a band-pass frequency-shaped semi-active control (FSSC) and a narrow-band FSSC. These algorithms are designed without requiring an accurate damper model or system identification for control current input. Unlike [...] Read more.
This study introduces novel semi-active vibration controllers for magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based vibration control systems, specifically a band-pass frequency-shaped semi-active control (FSSC) and a narrow-band FSSC. These algorithms are designed without requiring an accurate damper model or system identification for control current input. Unlike active controllers, the FSSC algorithms treat the MR damper as a semi-active dissipative device, and their control signal is a control current, not a control force. The performance of both FSSC algorithms is evaluated through simulation using a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) MR fluid-based engine mount system. A comparative analysis with the classical semi-active skyhook control demonstrates the advantages of the proposed FSSC algorithms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrorheological and Magnetorheological Materials: Material Design, Control and Industrial Applications)
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