Smart Materials & Systems Semester III

Course Code BME306B CIE Marks 50

Teaching Hours/Week (L: T:P: S) 3:0:0:0 SEE Marks 50

Total Hours of Pedagogy 40 Total Marks 100

Credits 03

Module-1

Smart materials and structures: System intelligence- components and classification of smart structures,
common smart materials and associated stimulus-response, Application areas of smart systems

Module-2

Electrically Activated Materials: Piezoelectricity, Piezoresistivity, Ferroelectricity, Piezoelectric

materials- piezoelectric effect, Piezoceramics, Piezopolymers, Piezoelectric materials as sensors,
Actuators and bimorphs, nanocarbon tubes

Module-3

Thermally activated materials: Shape memory materials; Shape memory alloys (SMAs),

Classification - Transformation - Ni-Ti Alloys, Shape memory effect, Martensitic transformation,

One way and two-way SME, binary and ternary alloy systems, Functional properties of SMAs,

Shape memory ceramics - Shape memory polymers – Applications

Module-4

Smart polymers: Thermally responsive polymers, Electroactive polymers microgels, Synthesis,

Properties and Applications, Protein-based smart polymers, pH-responsive and photoresponsive

polymers, Self-assembly, Drug delivery using smart polymers

Module-5

Chemically Activated Materials - Chemical Gels - Self healing materials Optically Activated

Materials - Optically activated polymers - Azobenzene - Liquid Crystal, Smart materials for

space applications: Elastic memory composites, Smart corrosion protection coatings, Sensors,

Actuators, Transducers,
 Module-1

Smart materials and structures: System intelligence- components and classification of smart
structures, common smart materials and associated stimulus-response, Application areas of smart
systems

Introduction
Since the earliest days of the evolution of mankind, the main distinguishing features between
human beings and other mammals has been the ability to use and develop materials to satisfy
our human requirements. Materials science and engineering plays a vital role in this modern
age of science and technology. Various kinds of materials are used in industry, housing,
agriculture, transportation, etc. to meet the plant and individual requirements. Most materials
doesn't exist in its pure shape, it is always exist as a ores.

For centuries, metals have played an important role as structural materials. Techniques of
alloying, smelting, and forging have been evolving since the bronze and iron ages. With
advancements in science and technology, and a deeper understanding of the effects of
microstructure and processing techniques on the material behaviour, the field of material
science has radically improved through the past decades. The capability to engineer different
material properties (mechanical, thermal, electrical, etc.) for a variety of applications has
enabled the development of new alloys and composites.

Science and technology have made amazing developments in the design of electronics and
machinery using standard materials, which do not have particularly special properties (i.e.
steel, aluminium, gold). Imagine the range of possibilities, which exist for special materials
that have properties, scientists can manipulate. Some such materials have the ability to change
shape or size simply by adding a little bit of heat, or to change from a liquid to a solid almost
instantly when near a magnet; these materials are called smart materials

Smart material - Material that has the intrinsic or extrinsic capabilities to respond to an external
stimulus in a functionally useful manner.

Smart materials and structures can be defined as the materials and structures that sense and
react to environmental conditions or stimuli, such as those from mechanical, thermal, chemical,
electrical, magnetic or other sources.

The concept of a smart system can be described as a “system that has intrinsic sensor, actuator
and control mechanisms whereby it is capable of sensing a stimulus, responding to it, and
reverting to its original state after the stimulus is removed”.
A smart structure is defined as a structure that is able to sense external stimuli such as pressure,
velocity, density, or temperature change.

Need for Smart Systems

 Optimizing response of large, complex systems

 adaptive response will cope with unforeseen circumstances
 enhance the range of survivability conditions
 provide early warning systems Perform enhancements otherwise not possible
 increase precision - better road handling ability or minimizing a satellite antenna’s
surface distortion
 control of accuracy under thermal or other disturbances
 Functionality
 lightweight
 Facilitate preventative maintenance.

Systems Intelligence is described as "intelligent behavior in the context of complex systems

involving interaction and feedback."

Systems intelligence (SI) involves the ability to use the human sensibilities of systems and
reasoning about systems in order to adaptively carry out productive actions within and with
respect to systems.

System intelligence - components

1. Sensors- The technology collects data from the environment and transmits it to the intelligent
core for identification and analysis.
A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical
environment. The input can be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure or any number of other
environmental phenomena.

 Position Sensors.
 Pressure Sensors.
 Temperature Sensors.
 Force Sensors.
 Vibration Sensors.
 Piezo Sensors.
 Fluid Property Sensors.
 Humidity Sensors.

The smart materials for sensor include piezo-electrics, shape-memory alloys, electrostrictive
materials, magneto-strictive materials, electro-rheological fluids, magneto-rheological fluids,
polyelectrolyte gels, pyroelectrics, photo-strictive materials, photo-ferroelectric materials,
magneto-optical materials, and superconducting materials.

2. Actuators - They perform the actions that the intelligence core determines once it analyzes the
environment in real-time.

An actuator is a device that produces a motion by converting energy and signals going into the
system. The motion it produces can be either rotary or linear. An actuator is a device that
produces a motion by converting energy and signals going into the system.
  Mechanical actuators.
 Hydraulic actuators.
 Pneumatic actuators.
 Magnetic actuators.

Polymers such as dielectric

elastomers (DE), ionic polymer
metal composites (IPMC), ionic
electroactive polymers, polyelectrolyte gels, and gel-metal composites are common materials
to form 3D layered structures that can be tailored to work as soft actuators.

3. Specific environment - It is the context that the intelligent system analyzes and modifies.
They can be static, discrete, episodic, deterministic, or known.

 Fully Observable vs Partially Observable environment: The agent can either observe
the entire state of the environment or only a portion of it.
 Deterministic vs Stochastic environment: The outcome of an action is either certain or
uncertain due to randomness.
  Competitive vs Collaborative environment: The agent interacts with other agents that
may be competing or collaborating.
 Single-agent vs Multi-agent environment: The agent interacts with either a single entity
or multiple entities.
 Static vs Dynamic environment: The environment can either remain constant or change
over time.
 Discrete vs Continuous environment: The state and action spaces can either be finite
and well-defined or infinite and continuous.
 Episodic vs Sequential environment: The agent's interaction with the environment can
either be divided into distinct episodes or a continuous sequence of actions.
 Known vs Unknown environment: The agent can either have complete knowledge
about the environment or have limited or no knowledge about the environment's rules and
outcomes.

4. Intelligence Core -Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the pillars of this section. It
is what makes it possible to generate situational awareness and learn from the situation. l User
interface (UI).

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human cognitive processes by machines. It

automates processes & aims to ape Human Intelligence by applying Cognitive
Computing (simulation of Human thought processes) to IT Systems.
 AI involves programming for Knowledge, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Perception,
Learning, Planning & Automating Processes. The core part of AI is Knowledge
Engineering, Machine Learning, Machine Perception and Robotics.
5. User Interface (UI) - It is the way an external agent communicates and alters the relationship
between the system and the environment.

 User interfaces are human-machine interfaces whose purpose is to enhance the

performance, affectivity, naturalness and, in general, usability of interactions between
humans and machines representing, reasoning or performing on a collection of models.

UI elements usually fall into one of the following four categories:

 Input controls - allow users to input information into the system.

 Navigational components - help users move around a product or website.
 Informational components - share information with users.
 Containers - hold related content together.

6. External Agents - The people who oversee the process of the intelligent system or even other
artificial intelligence.
Classification of smart structures:

(A) Sensory structures;

(B) Adaptive structures;

(C) Controlled structures;

(D) Active structures;

(E) Intelligent structures.

(a) Sensory Structures: These structures possess sensors that enable the determination or
monitoring of system states/ characteristics.

(b) Adaptive Structures: These structures possess actuators that enable the alteration of system
states or characteristics in a controlled manner.

(c) Controlled Structures: These result from the intersection of the sensory and the adaptive
structures. These possess both sensors and actuators integrated in feedback architecture for the
purpose of controlling the system states or characteristics.

(d) Active Structures: These structures possess both sensors and actuators that are highly
integrated into the structure and exhibit structural functionality in addition to control
functionality.

(e) Intelligent Structures: These structures are basically active structures possessing highly
integrated control logic and electronics that provides the cognitive element of a distributed or
hierarchic control architecture.

The relationship between these structure types is clearly explained in the Fig. below.
Common Smart Materials and Associated Stimulus-Response

Smart materials and structures can be defined as the materials and structures that sense and react
to environmental conditions or stimuli, such as those from mechanical, thermal, chemical,
electrical, magnetic or other sources.

Fig. 2 shows the 'response' associated 'stimulus' and of common smart materials
The materials change their behavior in
systematic manner as a response to
specific stimulus (Rogers, 1989)
which could be alter in magnetic
or/and electric fields, stress, acoustic,
temperature, nuclear radiation, or/and
chemical properties (Fig. 1). They are
superior to other materials with five
characteristics: selectivity, directness,
immediacy, self-actuation, and transiency (Addington and Schoedeck, 2006).

The change observed in the responsive material upon exposure to a stimulus can be physical,
chemical or biological. Some responses include folding, curling, twisting, expansion,
contraction, color change, and degradation.
Physical stimuli include temperature, light, and magnetic field, whereas humidity, and pH are
examples of chemical stimuli (Figure 5). Some smart materials have multi-functionality and
respond to two or more signals simultaneously (Zhang et al., 2015).

Types of stimuli to be exerted, and thus the smart material, should be selected with care, taking
into consideration the requirements and constraints of the specific application area, and the
relevance of the interaction mechanism to the selected application. Interaction mechanism refers
to the process of application of stimulus to the responsive material. In some applications,
transformations require additional processes prior to application of the stimulus, rather than
simple exposure of the material, to obtain a response and the desired outcome.
Application areas of smart systems

Network Monitoring and Analysis Systems

Network Monitoring Systems are software that provides monitoring and automating tools
to make sure the bandwidth of a certain network is working properly. They allow users
to monitor computer networks and their components (which can include firewalls, routers, wi-fi
or Lan connections, devices, servers, and more). These Intelligent Systems connect devices and
software while optimizing the information that travels among them.

They also investigate and flag performance issues and organize the data recovered in a
user-friendly interface. Network Monitoring and Analysis Systems have proven pivotal for
organizations that rely on these networks since an error in the connection can put the whole
operation at risk.
Smart Watches (Biometric Monitoring)

Perhaps the most known of the Intelligent Systems are the smart watches, which have been a
popular product during the last decade. These small computing devices get their names due to
their resemblance to a wristwatch, although they do more than simply tell the time.

By connecting via Bluetooth to another device (usually a smartphone) or via Wi-Fi directly to a
network, smartwatches can receive and make phone calls, read emails, listen to music, manage
files, or even access websites. Some smart watches also have other uses as they
can monitor biometrics, such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygenation, or the number of steps
and physical activity done during a certain period. This has proven relevant to the health of many
people, particularly if they suffer from conditions in which these biometrics must be checked
regularly.

AI visual inspection

As it might be expected, visual inspection is necessary for many production processes to detect
defects or problems in certain products or areas. Nowadays, it is most important in factories
with assembly lines dealing with thousands of products daily. Thus, it helps to minimize
human error and save time, which is why Artificial Intelligence has been implemented to the
procedure.

What this entails is the employment of a visual inspection process based on computer vision and
Deep learning. An Intelligent System conformed by several technological elements is used to
monitor and inspect an operation to ensure that it works properly, and its products meet the
standards required. AI visual inspection simulates a human visual examination on a
computerized system while learning patterns and applying them to the recovered data to identify
defects in the products.

Nowadays, the implementation of AI visual inspection is pivotal in assembly lines or other

automatized processes as it can inspect products partially or entirely, saving time and
reducing human error.
Product planning and delivery

Another type of intelligent system relevant to today’s several industries is the Intelligent
Manufacturing System (IMS), which implies the collaboration between humans, machines, and
processes to optimize product planning and delivery within a certain manufacturing process. IMS
creates models of planning, factory layout, production design, and use of machinery, among
other things, to create, propose, and implement the best processes for a certain product, focusing
not only on quantity or quality but also on resource-preservation and sustainability. The use
of AI within these systems implies that new products, along with their planning and delivery, can
be created without human intervention. The AI can also analyze existing processes and flag
errors, helping to make them more efficient.

Crime detection

The use of intelligent systems has been used in the last years to ensure the safety of citizens all
around the world. Crime detection and prevention are made easier both in the private and
public sectors by the implementation of Intelligent Surveillance Systems. These connect
humans, computers, software, cameras, internet, and other elements to create a network of
surveillance that can detect in real-time possible crimes or crimes in progress within a certain
range.

The implementation of AI for monitoring cameras eliminates factors such as human fatigue or
attention span and greatly improves the chances of catching a criminal. AI can learn to
recognize certain patterns and social behaviors, as well as implement face-recognition features,
which means it can be trained to detect and flag illicit activities, quickly transmitting this
information to a particular channel such as police departments or monitoring
stations. These intelligent systems will prove pivotal for reducing crimes in our cities.