Smart Materials Actuators

Smart Materials-Based Actuators at the Micro/Nano-Scale: Characterization, Control, and Applications gives a state of the art of emerging techniques to the characterization and control of actuators based on smart materials working at the micro/nano scale. The book aims to characterize some commonly used structures based on piezoelectric and electroactive polymeric actuators and also focuses on various and emerging techniques employed to control them. This book also includes two of the most emerging topics and applications: nanorobotics and cells micro/nano-manipulation.

In the last two decades, a great effort has been directed towards the development of new smart materials actuators and their corresponding application devices and systems. Currently, some smart materials actuators are commercially applied for several technologies including automotive technology, but some of the smart materials actuators are still far from meeting strict practical requirements such as reliability, cost-effectiveness and robustness against unexpected environment conditions. Therefore, it is timely and appropriate to present recent research on smart materials actuators in terms of material characterization and advanced application systems in a single book. This book describes smart materials actuator technology from materials characterizations to device or system applications. The smart materials introduced in this book include magnetorehological fluid (MRF), magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), electrorheological fluid (ERF), piezoelectric material (PM), shape memory ally (SMA), dielectric elastomer (DE) and ionic polymer (IP). Both physical and chemical characterizations of each smart material are described in details in terms of actuating aspect. In addition, several application devices utilizing each smart material are introduced to provide practical controllability as a potential candidate for new actuators. The application devices introduced in this book include MRF damper for automotive suspension, PM unimorph pump for micro-hydraulic system, MRE flexible structure for vibration control, IP biomimetic micro-robot and SMA civil structure and damper system for vibration attenuation.

Currently, many smart materials exhibit one or multifunctional capabilities that are being effectively exploited in various engineering applications, but these are only a hint of what is possible. Newer classes of smart materials are beginning to display the capacity for self-repair, self-diagnosis, self-multiplication, and self-degradation. Ultimately, what will make them practical and commercially viable are control devices that provide sufficient speed and sensitivity. While there are other candidates, piezoelectric actuators and sensors are proving to be the best choice. Piezoelectric Actuators: Control Applications of Smart Materials details the authors’ cutting-edge research and development in this burgeoning area. It presents their insights into optimal control strategies, reflecting their latest collection of refereed international papers written for a number of prestigious journals. Piezoelectric materials are incorporated in devices used to control vibration in flexible structures. Applications include beams, plates, and shells; sensors and actuators for cabin noise control; and position controllers for structural systems such as the flexible manipulator, engine mount, ski, snowboard, robot gripper, ultrasonic motors, and various type of sensors including accelerometer, strain gage, and sound pressure gages. The contents and design of this book make it useful as a professional reference for scientists and practical engineers who would like to create new machines or devices featuring smart material actuators and sensors integrated with piezoelectric materials. With that goal in mind, this book: Describes the piezoelectric effect from a microscopic point of view Addresses vibration control for flexible structures and other methods that use active mount Covers control of flexible robotic manipulators Discusses application to fine-motion and hydraulic control systems Explores piezoelectric shunt technology This book is exceptionally valuable as a reference for professional engineers working at the forefront of numerous industries. With its balanced presentation of theory and application, it will also be of special interest to graduate students studying control methodology.

"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 stimulated by chemical or biological signals are of interest for their many applications including drug delivery, as well as in new sensors and actuators for environmental monitoring, process and food control, and medicine. In contrast to other books on responsive materials, this volume concentrates on materials which are stimulated by chemical or biological signals. Chemoresponsive Materials introduces the area with chapters covering different responsive material systems including hydrogels, organogels, membranes, thin layers, polymer brushes, chemomechanical and imprinted polymers, nanomaterials, silica particles, as well as carbohydrate- and bio-based systems. Many promising applications are highlighted, with an emphasis on drug delivery, sensors and actuators. With contributions from internationally known experts, the book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in academia, healthcare and industry interested in functional materials and their applications.

Presents state-of-the-art knowledge?from basic insights to applications?on ferroic materials-based devices This book covers the fundamental physics, fabrication methods, and applications of ferroic materials and covers bulk, thin films, and nanomaterials. It provides a thorough overview of smart materials and systems involving the interplays among the mechanical strain, electrical polarization, magnetization, as well as heat and light. Materials presented include ferroelectric, multiferroic, piezoelectric, electrostrictive, magnetostrictive, and shape memory materials as well as their composites. The book also introduces various sensor and transducer applications, such as ultrasonic transducers, surface acoustic wave devices, microwave devices, magneto-electric devices, infrared detectors and memories. Ferroic Materials for Smart Systems: Fabrication, Devices and Applications introduces advanced measurement and testing techniques in ferroelectrics, including FeRAM and ferroelectric tunnelling based resistive switching. It also looks at ferroelectricity in emerging materials, such as 2D materials and high-k gate dielectric material HfO2. Engineering considerations for device design and fabrication are examined, as well as applications for magnetostrictive devices. Multiferroics of materials possessing both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric orders is covered, along with ferroelastic materials represented by shape memory alloy and magnetic shape memory alloys. -Brings together physics, fabrication, and applications of ferroic materials in a coherent manner -Discusses recent advances in ferroic materials technology and applications -Covers dielectric, ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials -Introduces electrostrictive materials and magnetostrictive materials -Examines shape memory alloys and magneto-shape-memory alloys -Introduces devices based on the integration of ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials such as multiferroic memory device and ME coupling device for sensor applications Ferroic Materials for Smart Systems: Fabrication, Devices and Applications will appeal to a wide variety of researchers and developers in physics, materials science and engineering.

Recently, considerable attention has been focused on vibration control technology using "smart" or "intelligent" materials, which have inherently actuating and sensing capabilities. Typically these materials are employed to the vibration control of lumped parameter systems or distributed parameter structures by controlling the mass-distribution, stiffness change and the dissipation change. This may be accomplished by semi-active control or active control methods associated with the smart material actuators. Among many candidates of smart materials, magneto-rheological materials and piezoelectric materials are frequently adopted for vibration control. Magneto-rheological fluid and elastomer are especially utilized for vibration control of lumped parameter systems such as automotive damper, while the piezoelectric materials are used for vibration control of flexible distributed parameter structures with salient characteristics, such as fast response time. This book can be used as a textbook for graduate students or as a reference book for potential researchers who are interested in vibration control utilizing new methods associated with smart materials actuators. This book will provide some novel insights for advanced vibration control technology to many readers.

This book describes several novel applications currently under investigation that exploit the unique actuator and sensor capabilities of smart material compounds. In addition to present and projected applications, this book provides comprehensive coverage of both linear and nonlinear modeling techniques necessary to characterize materials in a manner that facilitates transducer design and control development. The author focuses on ferroelectric, magnetic, and shape memory compounds and also addresses applications exploiting amorphous and ionic polymers, magnetorheological compounds, and fiber optic sensors. By providing a unified treatment of both linear and nonlinear characterization frameworks, Smart Material Systems: Model Development encompasses both low to moderate drive levels, which constitute the primary focus of most present texts, and the high drive regimes dictated by present and future applications. This will significantly enhance the design of transducers and control systems which exploit the unique actuator and sensor capabilities provided by smart material compounds.