Study on the electrorheological effect of immiscible polymer blends and their applications

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The main objectives of the project is to 1) synthesize several polymers for the immiscible polymer blend electrorheological (ER) fluid, 2) classify them according to physical properties, 3) elucidate the mechanism of ER effect ; the relationship between the domain structure and the rheological properties under shear flow and an electric field and 4) apply them to devices for controlling torque by an electric field.First, we developed a new system that combines a confocal scanning laser microscpe (CSLM) and a rheometer, with which structure observations and rheological measurements could be simultaneously made. In three different blends various structural changes were observed, which were all related to the electrorheological effect. In one blend we observed a phase inversion, while in another blend there was a change from an droplet-dispersed structure to a network structure. In the third one, a layer structure was observed and found to be destroyed by application of an electric field.In applications, Inoue and Furusho developed a caster-walker with ER fluid brakes and a rehabilitation robot system.