Magneto-rhelological（MR） dampers are devices that employ rheological fluids to modify their mechanical properties. Their mechanical simplicity, high dynamic range, lower power requirements, large force capacity, robustness and safe maimer of operation in cases of failure have made them attractive devices for semi-active real-time control in civil, aerospace and automotive applications. Time response characteristic is one of the most important technical performances of MR dampers, and response time directly affects the control frequency, application range and the actual effect of MR dampers. In this study, one kind of finite difference solution for predicting the response time ofmagneto-rheological dampers from ＂off-state＂ to ＂on-state＂ is put forward. A laminar flow model is used to describe the flow in the MR valve, and a bi-viscous fluid flow model is utilized to describe the relationship of shear stress and shear rate of MR fluid. An explicit difference format is used to diseretize the Novior-Stoks equation, and stability condition of this algorithm is built by Von-Neumann stability criterion. The pressure gradient along the flow duct is solved by a dichotomy algorithm with iteration, and the changing curve of the damping force versus time of MR damper is obtained as well. According to the abovementioned numerical algorithm, the damping forces versus time curves from ＂off-state＂ to ＂on-state＂ of a cylindrical piston type MR damper are computed. Moreover, the MR damper is installed in a material test system（MTS）, the magnetic field in the wire circles of the MR damper is ＂triggered＂ when the MR damper is imposed to do a constant speed motion, and the damping force curves are recorded. The comparison between numerical results and experimental results indicates that this finite difference algorithm can be used to estimate the response time delay of MR dampers.
