VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

“Jnana Sangama”, Belagavi. 590-018

An Technical Seminar Report on

“SMART MATERIALS”
[17ME86]

Submitted In partial fulfillment of requirements for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
in
Mechanical Engineering
Submitted By

SANTHOSH S RAO

USN: 1EE17ME009

Department of Mechanical Engineering

East West College of Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

EAST WEST COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

(Affiliated to VTU, Belgaum, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi)

Major Akshay Girish Kumar Rd, Sector A, Yelahanka New Town Bengaluru – 560064

2020-2021
 EAST WEST COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Bengaluru-560064
(Affiliated to VTU, Belgaum, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

CERTIFICATE

Certified that the “TECHNICAL SEMINAR ON SMART MATERIALS” is a bonafide work carried out
by SANTHOSH S RAO [1EE17ME009] in partial fulfillment for the award of degree of Bachelor of
Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of Visvesvaraya Technology University, Belgaum during the year of
2020-2021. It is certified that all correction/suggestion for internal assessment have been incorporated in the
report deposited in the department library. The technical seminar report has been approved as it satisfies the
academic requirements in respect of seminar work prescribed for the Bachelor Engineering degree.

Dr. GEETHA NAGARAJU Dr. ARAVIND K U Dr. SANTHOSH KUMAR G

Professor Professor & HOD Principal
Dept. of Mechanical Dept. of Mechanical EWCE, Bengaluru
Engineering Engineering
EWCE, Bengaluru EWCE, Bengaluru

II
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very much thankful to Department of Mechanical Engineering for providing me the opportunity to
present my Technical Seminar on SMART MATERIALS.

I would like to convey my sincere thanks to Dr. ARAVIND K U, HOD, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, for his encouragement to present my Technical Seminar.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Internal Guide Dr. GEETHA NAGARAJU, Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, East West College of Engineering, Bengaluru for her/his guidance
and encouragement..

I would like to thank Dr. SANTHOSH KUMAR G Principal East West College of Engineering Bengaluru
and all the departmental Staff and Friends for giving their precious time and valuable guidance.

Place: - Bengaluru SANTHOSH S RAO

Date: - 1EE17ME009

III
 INDEX

Sl. No. CONTENTS Page no.

01. INTRODUCTION 1

02. TYPES OF SMART MATERIALS 2

03. SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY 3

04. MAGNETOSTRICTIVE MATERIALS 6

05. pH-SENSITIVE POLYMERS 7

06. HALOCHROMIC MATERIALS 9

07. PHOTOCHEMICAL MATERIALS 10

08. SELF-HEALING MATERIALS 11

09. PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS 13

10. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF 14

PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

11. APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS 15

12. CONCLUSION 16

13. REFERENCES 17
 SMART MATERIALS

INTRODUCTION

Materials that can change one or more of its properties in response to an external stimulus are
called smart materials.

Smart materials are designed materials that have one or more properties that can be
significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress,
moisture, electric or magnetic fields, light, temperature, pH, or chemical compounds.

Smart materials are the basis of many applications, including sensors and actuators, or artificial
muscles, particularly as electroactive polymers

For example, the shape of the material will change in response to different temperature or
application of electrical charge or presence of magnetic field.

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TYPES OF SMART MATERIALS

There are a number of types of smart material, of which are already common.

 Shape Memory Alloy

 Magnetostrective Materials

 pH-Sensitive Materials

 Halochromic Materials

 Photo Sensitive Material

 Self-Healing Materials

 Piezoelectric Materials

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SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY

A shape memory alloy is an alloy that are deformed when they are cold will remember and
return to its original shape upon heating.

The shape memory effect occurs because a temperature-induced phase transformation reverses
deformation. Typically the martensitic phase is monoclinic or orthorhombic. Since these crystal
structures do not have enough slip systems for easy dislocation motion, they deform by
twinning or de-twinning.

A shape-memory alloy is an alloy that can be deformed when cold but returns to its pre-
deformed ("remembered") shape when heated. It may also be called memory metal, memory
alloy, smart metal, smart alloy, or muscle wire.

Parts made of shape-memory alloys can be lightweight, solid-state alternatives to

conventional actuators such as hydraulic, pneumatic, and motor-based systems. They can also
be used to make hermetic joints in metal tubing

Shape memory effect

Fig. 3.1 Martensite Fraction Curve

The above curve represents the martensite fraction. The difference between the heating
transition and the cooling transition gives rise to hysteresis where some of the mechanical
energy is lost in the process. The shape of the curve depends on the material properties of the
shape-memory alloy, such as the alloy's composition and work hardening.

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The shape memory effect occurs because of the reversal of deformation caused by a
temperature-induced phase transformation, as shown in the hysteresis curve. Typically the
martensitic phase is monoclinic or orthorhombic. Since these crystal structures do not have
enough slip systems for easy dislocation motion, they deform by twinning or detwinning.

Martensite is thermodynamically favoured at lower temperatures, while austenite is

thermodynamically favoured at higher temperatures. Since these structures have different
lattice sizes and symmetry, cooling austenite into martensite introduces internal strain energy
in the martensitic phase. To reduce this energy, the martensitic phase forms many twins. This
is called self-accommodating twinning. Since the shape memory alloy will be manufactured
from a higher temperature and is usually engineered so that the martensitic phase is dominant
at operating temperature to take advantage of the shape memory effect, Shape Memory Alloy
start highly twinned.

When the martensite is loaded, these self-accommodating twins provide an easy path for
deformation. Applied stresses will detwin the martensite, but all of the atoms stay in the same
position relative to the nearby atoms i.e. no atomic bonds are broken or reformed. Thus, when
the temperature is raised and austenite becomes thermodynamically favoured, all of the atoms
rearrange to the B2 structure which happens to be the same macroscopic shape as the B19' pre-
deformation shape. This phase transformation happens extremely quickly and gives Shape
Memory Alloy their distinctive snap.

Types of Shape Memory Effects

Shape-memory alloys have mainly two types of shape-memory effects. They are:-

● One-Way Memory Effect

○ When a shape memory alloy is in its cold state, the metal can be bent or stretched
and will hold those shapes until heated above the transition temperature.
○ Upon heating, the shape changes to its original shape. When the metal cools
again, it will retain the shape, until deformed again.
○ This type of Shape Memory Effect are called One-Way Memory Effect.

○ With the one-way effect, cooling from high temperatures does not cause a
macroscopic shape change.

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● Two-Way Memory Effect

○ The two-way shape-memory effect is the effect that the material remembers two
different shapes i.e. one at low temperatures, and one at the high temperature.
○ A material that shows a shape-memory effect during both heating and cooling
is said to have two-way shape memory.
○ This can also be obtained without the application of an external force (intrinsic
two-way effect).
○ A Shape Memory Alloy can be trained to remember to leave some reminders of
the deformed low-temperature condition in the high-temperature phases.

○ If a trained Shape Memory object is heated beyond a certain point will lose the
two-way memory effect.

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 SMART MATERIALS

MAGNETOSTRICTIVE MATERIALS

Magnetostriction is a property of magnetic materials that causes them to change their shape or
dimensions during the process of magnetization. The variation of materials' magnetization due
to the applied magnetic field changes the magnetostrictive strain until reaching its saturation
value, λ.

This effect causes energy loss due to frictional heating in susceptible ferromagnetic cores. The
effect is also responsible for the low-pitched humming sound that can be heard coming from
transformers, where oscillating AC currents produce a changing magnetic field.

These materials exhibit change in shape under the influence of magnetic field and also exhibit
change in their magnetization under the influence of mechanical stress.

Fig. 4.1 Magnetostriction

This effect was first identified in 1842 by James Joule when observing a sample of iron.

Magnetostrictive materials can convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy, and vice versa,
and are used to build actuators and sensors. The property can be quantified by the
magnetostrictive coefficient, Λ, which may be positive or negative and is defined as the
fractional change in length as the magnetization of the material increases from zero to
the saturation value.

Cobalt exhibits the largest room-temperature magnetostriction of a pure element at

60 microstrains. Among alloys, the highest known magnetostriction is exhibited by Terfenol-
D exhibits about 2,000 microstrains in a field of 160 kA/m (2 kOe) at room temperature and is
the most commonly used engineering magnetostrictive material.

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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. Materials may swell, collapse,
or change depending on the pH of their environment. This behaviour is exhibited due to the
presence of certain functional groups in the polymer chain.

This behaviour is exhibited due to the presence of certain functional groups in the polymer
chain. pH-sensitive materials can be either acidic or basic, responding to either basic or acidic
pH values. These polymers can be designed with much different architecture for different
applications. Key uses of pH sensitive polymers are controlled drug delivery
systems, biomimetics, micromechanical systems, separation processes, and surface
functionalization.

pH sensitive polymers have been created with linear block copolymer, star, branched,
dendrimer, brush, and comb architectures. Polymers of different architectures will self-
assemble into different structures. This self-assembly can occur due to the nature of the
polymer and the solvent, or due to a change in pH. pH changes can also cause the larger
structure to swell or deswell. For example, block copolymers often form micelles, as will star
polymers and branched polymers. However, star and branched polymers can form rod or worm-
shaped micelles rather than the typical spheres. Brush polymers are usually used for modifying
surfaces since their structure doesn’t allow them to form a larger structure like a micelle.

Example: Dextran, Hyaluronic acid

Fig. 5.1 pH Sensitive Polymer

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 SMART MATERIALS

Types of pH Sensitive materials:

● Polyacids

Polyacids, are polymers that have acidic groups. Polyacids accept protons at low pH values. At
higher pH values, they deprotonate and become negatively charged. The negative charges
create a repulsion that causes the polymer to swell. This swelling behaviour is observed when
the pH is greater than the pKa of the polymer.

● Polybases

Polybases are the basic equivalent of polyacids and are also known as cationic polymers. They
accept protons at low pH (like polyacids), but become positively charged. In contrast, at higher
pH values they are neutral. Swelling behaviour is seen when the pH is less than the pKa of the
polymer.

Note: - pKa is the negative log of the acid dissociation constant or Ka value. A lower pKa
value indicates a stronger acid. That is, the lower value indicates the acid more fully dissociates
in water.

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HALOCHROMIC MATERIALS

A Halochromic material is a material which changes colour when change in pH occur in the
environment. The term chromic is defined as materials that can change colour reversibly with
the presence of a factor. In this case, the factor is pH.

Halochromic substances are suited for use in environments where pH changes occur
frequently, or places where changes in pH are extreme. Halochromic substances detect
alterations in the acidity of substances, like detection of corrosion in metals.

Halochromic substances may be used as indicators to determine the pH of solutions of

unknown pH. The colour obtained is compared with the colour obtained when the indicator is
mixed with solutions of known pH. The pH of the unknown solution can then be estimated.
Obvious disadvantages of this method include its dependency on the colour sensitivity of the
human eye, and that unknown solutions that are already coloured cannot be used.

The colour change of halochromic substances occur when the chemical binds to existing
hydrogen and hydroxide ions in solution. Such bonds result in changes in the conjugated
systems of the molecule, or the range of electron flow. This alters the wavelength of light
absorbed, which in turn results in a visible change of colour. Halochromic substances do not
display a full range of colour for a full range of pH because, after certain acidities, the
conjugated system will not change. The various shades result from different concentrations of
halochromic molecules with different conjugated systems.

These materials are commonly used materials that change their colour as a result of changing
pH or say acidity. Halochromic substances may be used as indicators to determine the pH of
solutions of unknown pH.

Fig. 6.1 Halochromism

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 SMART MATERIALS

PHOTOMECHANICAL MATERIALS
The materials which change their shape when exposed to light are called photomechanical
materials. These materials change their shape when they are exposed to light.

The photomechanical effect was first documented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880.

The most common mechanism of photomechanical effect is light-induced heating.

Photomechanical materials may be considered smart materials due to their natural change
implemented by external factors.

The below figure shows change of material property on application of light. The changes are
as shown a) Expansion b) Bending or Coiling c) Twisting.

Fig. 7.1 Photomechanical material

Fig. 7.2 Photomechanical Process

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SELF HEALING MATERIALS

Self-healing materials are artificial or synthetically-created substances which have the built-in
ability to automatically repair damages to themselves without any external diagnosis of the
problem or human intervention.

Materials degrade over time as a result of fatigue, environmental conditions, or damage

sustained during use. On a microscopic level, cracks and other types of damage have been
found to alter the thermal, electrical, and acoustical properties of materials, and crack
propagation can lead to material failure. In general, cracks are difficult to detect early on, and
periodic inspections and repairs necessitate personal involvement. Self-healing materials, on
the other hand, fight degradation by triggering a repair mechanism that reacts to micro-damage.
Smart structures are self-healing materials that can adapt to diverse environmental
circumstances based on their sensing and actuation characteristics.

Although polymers and elastomers are the most prevalent types of self-healing materials, self-healing
encompasses all classes of materials, including metals, ceramics, and cementitious materials. The
mechanisms for healing range from intrinsic material repair to the addition of a repair chemical enclosed
in a tiny vessel. The healing process must occur without human interference for a material to be formally
classified as autonomously self-healing. Self-healing polymers, on the other hand, may respond to an
external signal (light, temperature change, etc.) to begin the healing process.

A material that can self-correct damage caused by normal use could save money by preventing
material failure and lowering the expenses of a variety of industrial operations by extending
part life and reducing inefficiency caused by degradation over time.

Metals show early and low-ductility creep fracture as a result of the development and expansion
of cavities when subjected to high temperatures and moderate loads for lengthy periods of time.
These flaws eventually aggregate into fissures, resulting in macroscopic collapse. Thus, self-
healing of early-stage damage is a promising new strategy for extending the lifetime of metallic
components. Due to their high melting point and, as a result, low atom mobility, self-healing
in metals is naturally more difficult to achieve than in most other material classes. In most
cases, metal flaws are repaired by the production of precipitates at the defect locations, which
prevent further crack propagation. Underaged aluminium alloys offer better creep and fatigue
characteristics than peak hardening Al alloys, which is owing to the heterogeneous
precipitation near the crack tip and associated plastic zone. The dynamic precipitation of either
Cu or BN at the creep-cavity surface was the subject of the earliest attempts to repair creep

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damage in steels. Because a substantial percentage of spherical Cu precipitates is produced

concurrently with the matrix, Cu precipitation has only a moderate preference for deformation-
induced defects. Gold atoms have recently been identified as very effective healing agents in
Fe-based alloys. The Au precipitation is thought to be caused via a defect-induced process, in
which the Au solute remains dissolved until defects develop. By alloying with a tiny quantity
of Au, autonomic healing of high-temperature creep damage has been observed. Pore filling
occurs when healing chemicals selectively precipitate on the free surface of a creep hollow. At
lower stress levels, up to 80% of the creep cavities are filled with Au precipitates, resulting in
a significant increase in creep life time. The notion of creep damage healing in simple binary
or ternary model systems is being translated to genuine multicomponent creep steels.

After being damaged, some materials have the capacity to heal. Self-healing materials have the
natural capacity to repair damage caused by atypical use, extending their useful life.

Example: - polymers, ceramics 12Terminator

Fig. 8.1 Self-Healing Process in Self-Healing Materials

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 SMART MATERIALS

PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

Piezoelectricity is a phenomenon where electric charge that accumulates in certain solid

materials in response to applied mechanical stress. Piezoelectric materials are materials that
produce an electric current when they are placed under mechanical stress. French physicists
Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity in 1880.

The piezoelectric process is also reversible, so if you apply an electric current to these
materials, they will actually change shape slightly. The piezoelectric effect is a reversible
process i.e. application of electrical charges results in the generation of a mechanical strain.
This was found out by Gabriel Lippmann in 1881.

There are several materials that we have known for some time that possess piezoelectric
properties, including bone, proteins, crystals and ceramics.

But for over 4 decades, this finding was not recognised properly. Until World War I, SONAR
devices were employed for piezoelectric materials by associated submarines for the detection
of German submarines. These piezoelectric materials began to be applied in numerous areas
from then on. At the beginning of the Second World War, allied aeroplanes employed
piezoelectric materials to provide them with an enormous benefit over Nazi aircraft.
Piezoelectric materials found after the Second World War used several fields such as
SONARS, surgeries and others.

Piezoelectricity is an interesting topic of Nanotechnology, and attempts to harness this kind of

power are already being conducted outside of labs. Engineers have previously installed
piezoelectric flooring in numerous places, including Japan's subway, dance floors throughout
the world, and football stadiums, which exploit the high volume of footfall to reduce their need
for power from the grid. With luck, in the next years, piezoelectricity will become another
weapon we can employ to minimise our dependency on fossil fuels and extract the energy we
require.

Fig. 9.1 Piezoelectric Materials

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ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF PIEZOELECTRIC

MATERIALS

Advantages of Piezoelectric Materials

● Their structure is very simple.

● There is no need for application of any external voltage source.

● The output voltage is very high.

● There are no associated mechanical limitations.

● They are unaffected by externals electromagnetic fields.

● The process is completely pollution free.

● Maintenance required is very low.

● Replacement of defective parts or equipment is very easy.

Limitations of Piezoelectric Materials

● Piezoelectric materials are brittle.

● They are susceptible to crack, break or shatter into pieces when the applied mechanical
stress is very high.

● They have poor mechanical characteristics.

● The output impedance is very high.

● The output current low.

● High mechanical stress can depolarise a piezoelectric material.

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APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

● In the electric cigarette lighter.

● In piezoelectric transformer where piezoelectric material is used as a type of AC
voltage multiplier.
● In the production of Ultrasonic sound waves.

● In Wear detection systems.

● In dance floor tiles, footpath, floor mats and street tiles.

● Piezo surgery is a minimally invasive technique that aims to cut a target tissue with
little damage to neighbouring tissues.

● Reducing shocks and vibration.

● Quartz Clocks.

● Piezoelectric inkjet printing.

● Piezoelectric elements are also used in the detection and generation of sonar waves.
● Piezoelectric materials are used in single-axis and dual-axis tilt sensing.
● Power monitoring in high power applications (e.g. medical
treatment, sonochemistry and industrial processing).

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CONCLUSION

Intelligent materials are a wide range of different kinds. Piezoelectric materials are one
example. Smart materials provide a wide range of applications in the aerospace, maritime,
automotive, engineering, and medical and telecommunications industries. In particular, the
field of medical and telecommunications have revolutionised piezoelectric materials. The
'Green Energy' source of piezoelectricity is altering the game.

With the ability of flexible piezoelectric materials to stand up to substantial amounts of strain,
power harvesting appeals. Convert the surrounding vibrational energy into electrical energy.

Electrical power can then be used or saved for later use to power other equipment.

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REFERENCES

1. “Encyclopedia of Smart Materials” Vol 1,2 by Mel Schwartz

2. “Smart Materials and New Technologies: for architecture and design profession” by
Michelle Addington & Daniel. L. Shodek

3. “Plate and Panel Structures of Isotropic, Composite and Piezoelectric Materials,

Including Sandwich Construction” by Jack. R

4. “Handbook of Advanced Dielectric, Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Materials:

Synthesis, Properties and Applications.” by Z. Ye

5. “Shape memory alloy engineering: for aerospace, structural and other” by Leonardo
Lecce. Antonio Concilio

6. “Hand book on Giant Magnetostrictive Materials” by Göran Engdahl, Isaak D.

Mayergoyz

7. “Biocompatible Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(L-histidine) Hybrid

Materials for pH-Sensitive Intracellular Anticancer Drug Delivery” by Renjith P.
Johnson, Young-Il Jeong, Eunji Choi, Chung-Wook Chung, Dae Hwan Kang, Sae-Ock
Oh, Hongsuk Suh & Il Kim.

8. ”Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering || Halochromic

Composite Materials” by Bilgin & Mustafa

9. “Photomechanical Materials, Composites, and Systems: Wireless Transduction of

Light into Work” by White T. J Author(s): White T.J.

10. “Self-Healing Materials: An Alternative Approach to 20 Centuries of Materials

Science” Sybrand van der Zwaag

11. “Self-healing Materials: Fundamentals, Design Strategies, and Applications” Swapan

Kumar Ghosh

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