Smart Materials
Learn about the smart materials that will shape the future!
Infection-releasing drug, a building that is reactive to the weather, or a phone screen that will repair itself at the first sign of damage. Smart materials, the latest development in material science, are capable of a wide range of applications.
WHAT ARE SMART MATERIALS?
As intelligent materials or responsive materials, smart materials act in a controllable and reversible way , when exposed to external stimuli modifying some of their properties, such as when mechanical stress is applied to them or when a certain temperature is reached. Despite being referred to as smart materials, responsive materials are also often translated as active materials. It would be more accurate to refer to these materials as reactive materials.
TYPES OF SMART MATERIALS
Some types of smart materials include:
Piezoelectric —When mechanical stress is applied to these materials, an electric current is generated. Sound waves create pressure changes, which are converted into an electrical signal by piezoelectric microphones.
Shape memory — When these materials are heated after deformation, they recall their original shape and revert to it. Shape memory stents, which are tubes placed into arteries that expand when heated to body temperature, allowing for improved blood flow, are one application.
Thermo chromic — These are the materials that change color in response to temperature variations. Bathplugs that change color when the water gets too hot have been made with them.
Photo chromic — Changes in light conditions cause certain materials to change hue. Security ink sand figurines that ‘tan’ in the sun are one application.
Magneto rheological — When a fluid is exposed to a magnetic field, it transforms into a solid. They can be used to make vibration-suppressing dampers. These can be used on buildings and bridges to reduce the damage caused by severe winds or earthquakes, for example.
APPLICATIONS OF SMART MATERIALS
In the man-made world, there are numerous possibilities for such materials and structures. The Office of Science and Technology Foresight Programme has stated that `Smart materials will have an increasing range of applications and the underlying sciences in this area must be maintained at a standard which helps achieve technological objectives’, which means that smart materials and structures must solve engineering problems with hitherto unachievable efficiency, and provide an opportunity for new wealth creating products.
1. Smart Materials in Aerospace
Smart materials are already being employed in smart weapons systems, and the aviation and aerospace sectors are searching for ways to improve overall performance and fuel efficiency with smart materials. An aircraft made of a ’sensual structure’ could self-monitor its performance to a degree beyond present data recording, giving ground crews better health and usage monitoring. This would reduce the overheads associated with HUMS and allow such aircraft to fly for longer periods of time before requiring human intervention.
2. Smart Materials in Civil Engineering Applications
Different materials such as flyash, silica sand, ceramic dust, steel scrap from lathes, polyurethane foam, and others have been employed as smart materials in recent years to reduce the various difficulties that occur during and after construction. ‘Sensual structures,’ on the other hand, do not have to be limited to high-tech applications like aircraft. They could be used to monitor and analyze the durability of civil engineering structures. Monitoring a bridge’s current and long-term behavior would result in increased safety during its lifetime since it would provide early notice of structural concerns at a stage where small repairs might be made. This would have an impact on the life costs of such structures by lowering upfront construction costs (since smart structures would allow for fewer safety features in the initial design) and extending the structure’s safe life.
3. Structural Application of Smart Materials
The development of long-lasting and cost-effective high-performance construction materials and systems is critical for a country’s economic well-being, because civil infrastructure costs account for a significant amount of its national wealth. To address the issues of decaying civil infrastructure, smart materials research is critical. The use of smart materials for the optimal performance and safe design of buildings and other infrastructures, particularly those under threat from earthquakes and other natural disasters, is highlighted in this study. The train is shown in various situations with and without active railway track assistance in the diagram.
EXAMPLES OF SMART MATERIALS
Materials science is a never-ending source of fresh discoveries that have the potential to transform our future. Below is a list of some of the most incredible materials from recent years:
- Synthetic spider web: Not only is this material five times stronger than steel, but it also has a lot of elasticity. Bulletproof clothes, prosthetic skin for burns, and waterproof adhesives are all possible applications.
- Shrilk: Chitin, a carbohydrate found in krill shells, is the primary component. It was developed by Harvard University researchers and is regarded as the ultimate plastic substitute because it decomposes in only two weeks and also acts as a plant growth booster.
- Graphene: Its applications are nearly limitless: more self-contained batteries, cheaper photovoltaic solar cells, faster computers, flexible electronic devices, more durable buildings, bionic limbs, and so on. All of this is made possible by their numerous qualities.
- Metamaterials: They’re made in the lab with strange physical qualities that aren’t present in nature, and they’re being studied in fields including military, optical, and telephony. They can bend electromagnetic waves of light, for example, resulting in negative refractive indices.
- XPL: It’s a silicone-based polymer that acts as a second skin on the dermis. It was developed by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to mimic the look of youthful, healthy skin by regenerating the wearer’s appearance.
There are also other materials that have gotten a lot of attention in recent years. These include stanine, which some compare to graphene; silicone, which many compare to graphene; vanadium dioxide, which has the ability to conduct electricity without emitting heat and promises to revolutionize electronics; and thermochromic cement and self-repairing concrete, which are designed to increase the durability of concrete.
FUTURE OF SMART MATERIALS
1. In Nanotechnology to Revolutionize Smart Materials Technology
Nanotechnology will hasten the development of more advanced and complex smart material technologies. To improve material performance and process efficiency, researchers are now looking into the possibility of designing, modifying, and manipulating material structure at the nanoscale level. Nanomaterial improvements are projected to improve product quality and performance, and they are gaining traction in a variety of applications, including sensors and electronic devices. Nano sensor particles aid in the development of tools for assessing living cells and function as reporters in the monitoring of industrial processes. Nanotechnology, which is predicted to be crucial in generating more varied, complex, and intelligent systems, will likely drive the success of smart materials in the future.
2. Smart Materials Expected to Cater to Diverse Applications
Smart materials have advanced and improved to the point where they can now be used in a wide range of applications, particularly in the defense, aerospace, healthcare, electronics, and semiconductor industries. Although just a few of these applications are currently financially viable, their future acceptance potential is undeniable. “Smart materials are particularly useful for cellular production,” observes the analyst. “With the addition of cellular fluid and by regulating the cell’s shape and mechanical conditions, smart materials — especially polymers — can mimic these cells’ interactions and exhibit effective results.”
Smart materials are also being used in read/write head micropositioners and next-generation data storage devices in the computer industry. Researchers are working on piezo-accelerometers that can detect and fix read/write errors caused by head motion. Smart material technologies are finding their way into a variety of analytical instruments used to identify and diagnose complex medical disorders in the healthcare business. Smart materials are also likely to be useful in the fabrication of insulin pumps and drug delivery systems in the future.
AUTHORS:
Nehali Patel
Samiksha Dhumal
Sejal Utekar
Varad Magare
Aarti Dhikale