Smart material

About: Smart material is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3704 publications have been published within this topic receiving 74280 citations. The topic is also known as: intelligent material & responsive material.

Phase Transformations in Smart Materials

Abstract: One of the qualities that distinguishes living systems from inanimate matter is the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Smart materials have the ability to perform both sensing and actuating functions and are, therefore, capable of imitating this rudimentary aspect of life. Four of the most widely used smart materials are piezoelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 , electrostrictive Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 , magnetostrictive (Tb, Dy)Fe 2 and the shape-memory alloy NiTi. All four are ferroic with active domain walls and two phase transformations, which help to tune the properties of these actuator materials. Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 is a ferroelectric ceramic which is cubic at high temperature and becomes ferroelectric on cooling through the Curie temperature. At room temperature, it is poised on a rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary which enhances the piezoelectric coefficients. Terfenol, (Tb, Dy)Fe 2 , is also cubic at high temperature and then becomes magnetic on cooling through its Curie temperature. At room temperature, it too is poised on a rhombohedral-tetragonal transition which enhances its magnetostriction coefficients. Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 and nitinol (NiTi) are also cubic at high temperatures and on annealing transform to a partially ordered state. On further cooling, Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 passes through a diffuse phase transformation at room temperature where it exhibits very large dielectric and electrostrictive coefficients. Just below room temperature, it transforms to a ferroelectric rhombohedral phase. The partially ordered shape-memory alloy NiTi undergoes an austenitic (cubic) to martensitic (monoclinic) phase change just above room temperature. It is easily deformed in the martensitic state but recovers its original shape when reheated to austenite. The structural similarities between these four superb actuator materials are remarkable, and provide a key to the development of future smart materials.

Ultrasound-Responsive Systems as Components for Smart Materials.

Abstract: Smart materials can respond to stimuli and adapt their responses based on external cues from their environments. Such behavior requires a way to transport energy efficiently and then convert it for use in applications such as actuation, sensing, or signaling. Ultrasound can carry energy safely and with low losses through complex and opaque media. It can be localized to small regions of space and couple to systems over a wide range of time scales. However, the same characteristics that allow ultrasound to propagate efficiently through materials make it difficult to convert acoustic energy into other useful forms. Recent work across diverse fields has begun to address this challenge, demonstrating ultrasonic effects that provide control over physical and chemical systems with surprisingly high specificity. Here, we review recent progress in ultrasound-matter interactions, focusing on effects that can be incorporated as components in smart materials. These techniques build on fundamental phenomena such as cavitation, microstreaming, scattering, and acoustic radiation forces to enable capabilities such as actuation, sensing, payload delivery, and the initiation of chemical or biological processes. The diversity of emerging techniques holds great promise for a wide range of smart capabilities supported by ultrasound and poses interesting questions for further investigations.

Microwave power for smart material actuators

Abstract: The concept of microwave-driven smart material actuators was envisioned and developed as the best option to alleviate the complexity and weight associated with a hard-wire-networked power and control system for smart actuator arrays. The patch rectenna array was initially designed for high current output, but has undergone further development for high voltage output devices used in shape control applications. Test results show that more than 200 V of output were obtained from a 6 × 6 array at a far-field exposure (1.8 m away) with an X-band input power of 18 W. The 6 × 6 array patch rectenna was designed to theoretically generate voltages up to 540 V, but practically it has generated voltages in the range between 200 and 300 V. Testing was also performed with a thin layer composite unimorph ferroelectric driver and sensor and electro-active paper as smart actuators attached to the 6 × 6 array. Flexible dipole rectenna arrays built on thin-film-based flexible membranes are most applicable for NASA's various missions, such as microwave-driven shape controls for aircraft morphing and large, ultra-lightweight space structures. An array of dipole rectennas was designed for high voltage output by densely populating Schottky barrier diodes to drive piezoelectric or electrostrictive actuators. The dipole rectenna array will eventually be integrated with a power allocation and distribution logic circuit and microbatteries for storage of excessive power. The roadmap for the development of wireless power drivers based on the rectenna array for shape control requires the development of new membrane materials with proper dielectric constants that are suitable for dipole rectenna arrays.