Presentation by, POOJA HEGDE USN: 1MV10ECO70 Sir M. Viswesvaraiah Institute of Tech.

OVERVIEW
Introduction Types of Smart Materials and their applications. Limitations Future Scope Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
What are smart materials? Smart materials are those whose one or more physical properties can be dramatically altered. These properties can be viscosity, volume, conductivity etc.The property that can be altered decides the application that particular metal can be used for. A variety of smart materials already exist and are being researched extensively.

TYPES OF SMART MATERIALS

Piezoelectric materials Electro-rheostatic and magneto rheostatic materials Shape memory alloys pH sensitive polymers Photomechanical materials and Chromogenic systems.

PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS
Piezoelectric materials are those which give an electric discharge on application of an external deforming force OR experience change in size due to passage of current through them.

APPLICATIONS

They are mostly used as sensors in different environment. Ex: Airbag sensors in cars. They are often used to measure fluid density, fluid viscosity, fluid compositions, force of an impact etc. They are specially used in Energy Harvesting from Vibrations.

Energy Harvesting from Vibrations

Unused power exists in various forms such as machine vibration, flowing water, wind, human motion and shock waves. In recent years, industrial and academic research units have focused their attention on harvesting energy from vibrations using piezoelectric transducers. These can be used to harvest energy for low power devices as often found in portable electronics, sensor controlled and condition monitoring systems due to their high adaptability and wide frequency range. They use MFC(Macro Fiber Composite) which isnt as brittle as monolithic piezo materials. This has made a new class of electronics possible that is battery free, autonomous devices functioning solely on harvesting mechanical vibrations with piezoelectric components.

Applications of MFC Vibration harvester.

Non resonant energy harvester Autonomous data acquisition systems Structural health monitoring Pedometers, bio data monitoring.

Electro-rheostatic and Magneto-rheostatic materials

Electro-rheostatic (ER) and magnetorheostatic (MR) materials are fluids, which can experience a dramatic change in their viscosity. MR fluids experience a viscosity change when exposed to a magnetic field, while ER fluids experience similar changes in an electric field. The composition of each type of smart fluid varies widely. Ex: Iron particles in oil, cornstarch etc.

Applications of MR and ER fluids

MR fluids are used in car shocks , damping washing machine vibrations, prosthetic limbs, exercise equipment and surface polishing of machine parts. ER fluids have mainly been developed for use in clutches and valves, as well as engine mounts designed to reduce noise and vibration in vehicles.

SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS

Shape memory alloys are metals which exhibit two very unique properties pseudo-elasticity and shape memory effect. The most effective and widely used alloys include NiTi (Nickel - Titanium), CuZnAl, and CuAlNi. They exist in two distinct solid forms. The low temperature form is called Martensite and a high temperature form called Austenite.

PROPERTIES OF SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS

Pseudo elasticity, sometimes called super elasticity, is an elastic (reversible) response to an applied stress, caused by a phase transformation between the austenitic and martensitic phases of a crystal. There is no bond stretching or introduction of defects in the crystal. Thus , a pseudo- elastic material can return to its original shape even after removal of relatively high applied strains. This is called shape memory effect.

APPLICATIONS
Shape memory alloys are implemented in: Coffee pots Space shuttles Thermostats Vascular stents Hydraulic fittings for airplanes. They are bio- compatible, have good mechanical properties like strength, corrosion resistance etc.

pH SENSITIVE POLYMERS
pH sensitive or pH responsive polymers are materials which will respond to the changes in the pH of the surrounding medium by varying their dimensions. Such materials swell or collapse depending on the pH of their environment. There are two kinds of ph sensitive materials: one which have acidic group (-COOH, -SO3H) and swell in basic pH, and others which have basic groups (-NH2) and swell in acidic pH. Ex: Polyacrylic acid, chitosan etc.

APPLICATIONS

They are used in drug delivery systems and biomimetics.

PHOTOMECHANICAL MATERIALS AND CHROMOGENIC SYSTEMS the Photomechanical materials show change in
shape of a material when it is exposed to light. Chromogenic materials change colour in response to electrical, optical or thermal changes. These include electro chromic materials, which change their colour or opacity on the application of a voltage (e.g. liquid crystal displays), thermo chromic materials change in colour depending on their temperature, and photo chromic materials, which change colour in response to lightfor example, light sensitive sunglasses.

APPLICATIONS
Chromogenic smart systems are used in: Electrochromic smart windows Photonic hydrogen detection Light sensitive sunglasses etc.

LIMITATIONS

Piezoelectric materials are brittle due the crystalline structure. They produce relatively small strains and cannot withstand high shear and tension. They can become depolarized under very high voltages, temperatures and large stresses. Shape memory alloys have slow reaction time and low energy efficiency conversion. They are unweldable and expensive for large scale products. Most smart materials are expensive and are equipment intensive which makes their usage quite complicated.

FUTURE SCOPE

They have extensive usage range from aircraft industry to medicine to day to day usage. They reduce space and power consumption. They can also be used in civil structure systems, morphing systems, composite structures, flexible robotic systems, active noise control, adaptive optics, active vibration control, active noise suppression , active damping control, structural health monitoring, damage detection, mitigation and life cycle detection.