Smart Materials

Smart Materials
What is ‘Smart’?
• The terms ‘smart’, ‘functional’, ‘multifunctional’ and
‘intelligent’ are often used interchangeably.
• There is arguably no such thing as a ‘smart material’ per se -
there are only materials that exhibit interesting intrinsic
characteristics which can be exploited within systems, or
structures that, in turn, can exhibit ‘smart’ behaviour.
• Materials that have one or more properties that can be
significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external
stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or
magnetic fields.
• This argument is exemplified by comparing a photochromic
material that changes its colour state when exposed to light
and a simple metal that changes its physical state when
passing through its melting point when subjected to heating.
The various types of smart materials are,
• Piezo-electric materials
• Electrostrictive materials
• Magnetostrictive materials
• Magneto-rheological and Electro-rheological
materials
• Chromic materials
• Smart Gels
• pH-sensitive materials
• Shape memory alloys
 Piezo-electric materials
These materials exhibit two unique properties:
• Direct piezoelectric or sensory effect.
• Indirect piezoelectric or actuatory effect.
Direct piezoelectric or sensory effect.
• When a piezoelectric material is strained or
deformed, it develops or gives rise to a voltage /
current.
Indirect piezoelectric or actuatory effect.
• When an electric current is passed through a
piezoelectric material, it deforms.
• Piezoelectric materials are a class of the smart materials.
• These materials exhibit two unique properties:
• Direct piezoelectric or sensory effect: When a piezoelectric
material is strained or deformed, it develops or gives rise to a
voltage / current.
• Indirect Piezoelectric or Actuatory Effect: When an electric
current is passed through a piezoelectric material, it deforms.

Materials with Piezoelectric properties

Crystals (natural) Ceramics (man-made)
Quartz Barium titanate (BaTiO3)
Rochelle Salt (Potassium Sodium Tartrate) Lead titanate (PbTi3)
Topaz Lithium niobate (LiNb3)
Sucrose (table sugar) Lithium tanalate (LiTaO3)
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
Direct Piezoelectric or Sensory Effect

Direct Piezoelectric or Sensory Effect : develops an emf on deformation

 Direct piezoelectric or sensory effect
• The piezoelectric effect is caused by the elastic
deformation and orientation of electric dipoles when
subjected to an electric field.
• One of the most fundamental aspects of this is the non
– symmetrical structure of the crystal, in which the
centers of electrical charge do not coincide, and
therefore form dipoles. A bundle of several of these
elementary dipoles form a dipole region, known as a
domain.
• In the absence of stress / external strain, the change
distribution within the crystal is symmetric and the net
electric dipole moment is zero.
• On application of an external mechanical force / stress,
the material is deformed and as a result the dipoles are
displaced. The charge distribution will no longer
symmetric. A charge is therefore generated on the
surface of the crystal.
Indirect piezoelectric or actuatory effect

Electric
source

Electric current off Electric current on

• The application of electric field causes deformation and forces the

randomly oriented micro – dipoles into alignment.
• This alignment is called poling and leads to a constant volume
strain of the crystal.
• It is called inverse piezoelectric or actuatory effect.
• It is the property that is used for turning electrical signals into
mechanical movement or oscillations.
• Piezoelectric materials can be used as material sensor and / or
actuator materials because of these properties.
Materials
• Conventionally Rochelle salt and Quartz are
the most frequently used piezoelectric
materials.
• The recently developed material, like lead
zirconate titanate (PZT) offer properties that
are suitable for adaptor applications.
 Why do we use piezo sensors?
• Small size
• Light weight
• 2-wire operation
• Broad frequency range
• Ultra low noise
• Wide dynamic range
• Wide temperature range
• Simple signal conditioning
• Cost effective test implementation
 Common Uses for Piezoelectric Sensors
• Modal Analysis
• Predictive /Preventative maintenance
• Environmental Stress Screening (ESS)
• Health and Usage Monitoring Systems ( HUMS)
• Pyrotechnic events
• Aircraft ground vibration test
• Aircraft flight test
• Speakers
• Ultrasonic imaging
• Rocket propelled grenades
• Light up shoes and watches
 What is Electrostriction ?
• An electrical field separates the positively and negatively
charged ions, changing the dimensions of the cell and
resulting in an expansion.

• Used in commercial devices

• Undergo a change in shape in the presence of an electric field

• Examples : Lead Magnesium Niobate ( PMN ), lead

magnesium niobate-lead titanate(PMN-PT), lead lanthanum
zirconate titanate(PLZT)

• Possess high relative permittivity ( 20000-35000 )

• Possess extraordinarily high electrostrictive coefficients

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 ELECTROSTRICTIVE MATERIALS
• Unlike piezoelectric materials do not undergo polarization

• Difficult to synthesize in single crystal ceramic form

• PMN is a non-poled ceramic with displacement proportional

to the square of the applied voltage

• Applications : Pumps
Valves
Aerospace wind shield
Landing gear hydraulics
Sports
Ergonomics
Cardiology
Rehabilitation
Sonar projectors for submarines and surface
vessels 13
 Magnetostrictive Effect

• Magnetostrictive materials undergo an induced

mechanical strain when subjected to a magnetic field
• A very common magnetostrictive composite is the
amorphous alloy Fe81Si3.5B13.5C2 with a trade name
Metglas2605SC and Terfenol-D.
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Principle of Magnetostriction with Preload

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 Electrorheological Fluids
 Colloidal electrorheological (ER) fluids are a
suspension make of nanometer-sized dielectric particles in an
insulating carrier liquid.
 Undergo a change in viscosity when subjected to an electric
field
 The reversible liquid-solid transition happens in a several
milliseconds when a external electric field exerted.
Electrorheological Effect

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Effect of Electricity on a non- Electrorheological Fluid

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 Magnetorheological Fluids
• Undergo a change in viscosity when subjected to a
magnetic Field
• Undergo liquid to solid transformation in milliseconds
• Applications : Shock absorbers
Dampers for vehicle seats
Exercise equipment
Optical finishing

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 Modes of Use for MR Fluids
• Flow mode (Valve mode)
Dampers and Shock
absorbers

• Shear Mode
Clutch and brakes

• Squeeze flow mode Small, Millimeter order

controlled movement but
involving large forces

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MR Fluid Dampers MR Fluid Rotary Brake

MR Fluid Sponge
Damper

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 Limitations
• Low shear strength is the primary reason for limited
range applications.
• In the absence of external pressure the maximum shear
strength is about 100 kPa.
• If the fluid is compressed in the magnetic field direction
and the compressive stress is 2MPa, the shear strength is
raised to 1100 kPa.
• If the standard magnetic particles are replaced with
elongated magnetic particles, the shear strength is also
improved.
• Particle sedimentation: ferro particles settle out of the
suspension over time due to inherent difference between
the particles and the carrier fluid. Surfactants are usually
used to overcome this effect. 21
 Introduction
• Alloys that demonstrate the ability to revert to some previously defined shape when
subjected to appropriate thermal or stress cycling are known as shape memory alloys
(SMAs).

• Shows two unique properties:

1. Shape Memory Effect (SME)
2. Super-elasticity (SE)

T1>Md>T3>Af>MS>T2

T1: Austenite

Stress
Loading (A→M)

T3: superelastic
Unloading (M→A)

T2: Martensite
Strain

Schematic diagram of shape memory effect Stress-strain curves at different temperatures

for SMAs 22
Stress-Strain Curves for Different Materials

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• Commercially exploited shape memory alloys(SMA) are:
Ni-Ti, Cu-Zn-Al and Cu-Al-Ni.

• The major disadvantages of Ni-Ti and Cu-based shape

memory alloys are their high brittleness and low
transformation temperatures.

• They cannot be formed into the desired shape at low

temperatures and cannot be used in high temperature
applications.

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Microscopic and macroscopic views of the two
phases of SMAs

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One-way vs. two-way shape memory

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 Materials having the memory effect

• Ag-Cd 44/49 at.% Cd • Fe-Mn-Si

• Au-Cd 46.5/50 at.% Cd • Pt alloys
• Cu-Al-Ni 14/14.5 wt.% • Co-Ni-Al
Al and 3/4.5 wt.% Ni • Co-Ni-Ga
• Cu-Sn approx. 15 at.% • Ni-Fe-Ga
Sn
• Ti-Pd in various
• Cu-Zn 38.5/41.5 wt.% concentrations
Zn
• Ni-Ti (~55% Ni)
• Cu-Zn-X (X = Si, Al, Sn)
• Mn-Cu 5/35 at.% Cu
• Fe-Pt approx. 25 at.% Pt 27