Smart Material Structures

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the embryonic field of smart materials and structures, and also presents a state-of-the-art review of the sub-disciplines of the field. It informs readers of the technical challenges to the commercialisation of products incorporating these material technologies.

In this monograph, mathematical and computational investigations pertinent to scientific and engineering issues in the emerging field of smart materials are presented. A brief survey of basic mechanisms and questions related to various components (piezoelectric and electrostrictive elements, magnetostrictive transducers, ER fluids, shape memory alloys, fiber optics) of smart material structures is given. Attention is then focused on piezoceramic actuators and sensors. Care is given to the precise modeling of piezoceramic patch contributions (passive and active) in structures such as thin shells, plates and beams. Mathematical foundations for well-posedness, approximation, inverse problem and parameter estimation, and feedback control methodologies are discussed. Applications, including experimental validation of the efficacy of the ideas, are presented in the context of damage detection and characterization in structures, and in active control of structural vibrations and structure-borne noise.

"Smart" materials respond to environmental stimuli with particular changes in some variables. For that reason they are often also called responsive materials. Depending on changes in some external conditions, "smart" materials change either their properties (mechanical, electrical, appearance), their structure or composition, or their functions. Mostly, "smart" materials are embedded in systems whose inherent properties can be favourably changed to meet performance needs. Smart materials and structures have widespread applications in: 1. Materials science: composites, ceramics, processing science, interface science, sensor/actuator materials, chiral materials, conducting and chiral polymers, electrochromic materials, liquid crystals, molecular-level smart materials, biomaterials. 2. Sensing and actuation: electromagnetic, acoustic, chemical and mechanical sensing and actuation, single-measurand sensors, multiplexed multimeasurand distributed sensors and actuators, sensor/actuator signal processing, compatibility of sensors and actuators with conventional and advanced materials, smart sensors for materials and composites processing. 3. Optics and electromagnetics: optical fibre technology, active and adaptive optical systems and components, tuneable high-dielectric phase shifters, tuneable surface control. 4. Structures: smart skins for drag and turbulence control, other applications in aerospace/hydrospace structures, civil infrastructures, transportation vehicles, manufacturing equipment, repairability and maintainability. 5. Control: structural acoustic control, distributed control, analogue and digital feedback control, real-time implementation, adaptive structure stability, damage implications for structural control. 6. Information processing: neural networks, data processing, data visualisation and reliability. This book presents leading research from around the globe in this field.

"Smart Materials in Structural Health Monitoring, Control and Biomechanics" presents the latest developments in structural health monitoring, vibration control and biomechanics using smart materials. The book mainly focuses on piezoelectric, fibre optic and ionic polymer metal composite materials. It introduces concepts from the very basics and leads to advanced modelling (analytical/ numerical), practical aspects (including software/ hardware issues) and case studies spanning civil, mechanical and aerospace structures, including bridges, rocks and underground structures. This book is intended for practicing engineers, researchers from academic and R&D institutions and postgraduate students in the fields of smart materials and structures, structural health monitoring, vibration control and biomedical engineering. Professor Chee-Kiong Soh and Associate Professor Yaowen Yang both work at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Suresh Bhalla is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India.

This book focuses on smart materials and structures, which are also referred to as intelligent, adaptive, active, sensory, and metamorphic. The ultimate goal is to develop biologically inspired multifunctional materials with the capability to adapt their structural characteristics, monitor their health condition, perform self-diagnosis and self-repair, morph their shape, and undergo significant controlled motion.

Selected from a US Army Research Office Workshop, this collection of papers describes applications in electrorheological fluids, sensor/actuator films, self-adaptive structures, and shape-memory materials. Smart materials, a new class of materials of strategic and economic importance, are viewed as providing new opportunities in polymer materials, ceramics, electronic materials, metals, and composite materials. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book introduces the enabling concepts that make up the so-called smart structure and presents a number of brief case studies to illustrate the applications of these concepts. It examines the domains of the individual technologies and defines the challenges faced by the integrator. The book is particularly effective for the potential system user who needs a good technical general background on the subject and is also useful for students and researchers in contributory technologies who want to better understand the context of their work. Consultants in civil and structural engineering will also find it of interest.

Smart materials are materials that have one or more property that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, or pH. Active materials and smart structures offer a wealth of new opportunities to human ingenuity and engineering design. Whereas smart structures have the attributes of adaptability, flexibility, and even 'intelligence', the active materials are the enabling factors that make smart composite structures possible. This new Major Reference Work on smart materials provides a full and comprehensive source of information for both researchers and practitioners on the fundamental and recent developments in the fields of design, development, manufacturing and application of smart materials. Comprehensive subject coverage across the whole field of Smart Materials in one integrated resource In-depth explanation of the latest developments and research topics Thematically arranged to allow the user to easily find what they need