Research article

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Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and blends of poly(3-thiopheneacetic acid)/ acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, P3TAA/NBR, were fabricated, and the electrorheological properties, dielectric, and electrical conductivities were investigated . The electrorheological properties were determined under an oscillatory shear mode in a frequency range of 0.1 to 100 rad/s at various electric field strengths, from 0 to 2 kV/mm, at a fixed 27°C to observe the effects of acrylonitrile content (ACN) in the rubber systems and the conductive particle concentration in the blends. For the pure rubber systems, the storage modulus response (ΔG′) is linearly dependent on its dielectric constant (ε′), and increases with the ACN content. For the NBR/P3TAA blends, the storage modulus response varies nonlinearly with the dielectric constant. The bending responses of the rubbers and the blends were investigated in a vertical cantilever fixture. For the pure rubber system, the bending angle and the dielectrophoresis force vary linearly with electric field strength. For the blend system, the bending angle and the dielectrophoresis force vary nonlinearly with electric field strength.