ИСТИНА

Magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) are polymer composites that consist of a polymer matrix and ferromagnetic filler particles dispersed in it. Due to the presence of ferromagnetic filler in the material it is possible to influence its properties via an external magnetic field. Magnetized filler particles interact with each other and with the external field and rearrange inside the matrix, if it is possible. Thus, mechanical and electromagnetic properties of MAEs can be controlled externally. The aim of this work is to study the filler restructuring in MAEs using theoretical methods and computer simulations. Here the problem of a ferromagnetic inclusion in a polymer matrix is considered. Object of an arbitrary shape is placed in a hyperelastic medium. The medium’s response to the movement of the object caused by magnetic field is then studied using finite element method. This object can represent a single particle or a cluster of tightly packed particles moving as a whole. The shape of the object is chosen primarily to be that of an ellipsoid with varying anisometry ratio. Mechanical response (stress-strain) and the energy of a cell containing the ellipsoid are calculated for different filler concentrations, shapes (disk-like and needle-like ellipsoids), anisometry ratios and magnetic fields. Both linear and non-linear elasticity are considered. Various mechanical loads are prescribed to the cell corresponding to different boundary conditions. For the linear regime effective elastic modulus of the cell and the linear regime limits are calculated as well. The obtained results will later be used in simulations of ferromagnetic inclusion systems and ensembles.