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Smart Materials and Structures
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Smart Materials and Structures

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 19956

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Arkadiusz Żak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Electrical and Control Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Interests: computational methods; finite element techniques; smart materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Magdalena Palacz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Management and Organisation, Silesian University of Technology, Roosevelta 26-28, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
Interests: sensing technologies; numerical modelling; damage detection; wave propagation; energy harvesting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Novel materials, including smart materials, are designed to have one or more properties that can be significantly changed by the user in a controlled manner. An interesting group of materials that might exhibit specific controlled physical properties and that are not found in nature are called metamaterials. Due to their unique properties, smart materials have been of interest for uncountable areas of technical application, in various systems and structures including intelligent and adaptive sensing or actuation as well as active control. Therefore, this Special Issue has been proposed to gather in one place the most interesting results of the analysis and/or applications of such smart materials in terms of properties such as: piezoelectric, shape memory, photovoltaic, electroactive, magnetostrictive, temperature-responsive, photomechanical, self-healing, and others.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue covering scientifically interesting concepts and/or applications of smart materials and/or smart structures. The aim of this Issue is to provide readers with a better understanding of various possibilities offered by smart materials in terms of their potential use, by experience from research communities representing a wide area of engineering needs.

Prof. Arkadiusz Żak
Prof. Magdalena Palacz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart materials and structures
  • active control
  • smart systems

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 560 KiB  
Article
Gas Foil Bearing Technology Enhanced with Smart Materials
by Adam Martowicz, Jakub Roemer, Sławomir Kantor, Paweł Zdziebko, Grzegorz Żywica and Paweł Bagiński
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2757; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062757 - 19 Mar 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3067
Abstract
The paper discusses a perspective of the usage of various types of smart materials to enhance the operational properties of Gas Foil Bearings. The authors, referring to the current investigation on thermomechanical characteristics of the above-mentioned bearing type, have focused on the concept [...] Read more.
The paper discusses a perspective of the usage of various types of smart materials to enhance the operational properties of Gas Foil Bearings. The authors, referring to the current investigation on thermomechanical characteristics of the above-mentioned bearing type, have focused on the concept of using Shape Memory Alloys, Piezoelectric Transducers, Thermoelectric Modules and Thermocouples to improve both mechanical and thermal behavior of the bearings. Based on the available literature and the authors’ experience, the present work provides an overview of the known and perspective applications of smart materials to Gas Foil Bearings. In particular, a discussion on their capabilities, limitations and effectiveness is conducted, taking into account the unique characteristics and requirements of the studied type of bearings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials and Structures)
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13 pages, 4762 KiB  
Article
A Haptic Feedback Actuator Suitable for the Soft Wearable Device
by Jiaqi Ma, Xiang Cheng, Pengfei Wang, Zhiwei Jiao, Yuan Yu, Meng Yu, Bin Luo and Weimin Yang
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(24), 8827; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10248827 - 10 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3312
Abstract
Gaining direct tactile sensation is becoming increasingly important for humans in human–computer interaction fields such as space robot teleoperation and augmented reality (AR). In this study, a novel electro-hydraulic soft actuator was designed and manufactured. The proposed actuator is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [...] Read more.
Gaining direct tactile sensation is becoming increasingly important for humans in human–computer interaction fields such as space robot teleoperation and augmented reality (AR). In this study, a novel electro-hydraulic soft actuator was designed and manufactured. The proposed actuator is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films, flexible electrodes, and an insulating liquid dielectric. The influence of two different voltage loading methods on the output characteristics of the actuator was studied. The special voltage loading method (AC voltage) enables the actuator to respond rapidly (within 0.15 s), output a stable displacement in 3 s, and remain unchanged in the subsequent time. By adjusting the voltages and frequencies, a maximum output displacement of 1.1 mm and an output force of 1 N/cm2 can be rapidly achieved at a voltage of 12 kV (20 Hz). Finally, a haptic feedback system was built to control the robotic hand to perform gripping tasks in real time, and a more realistic tactile sensation could be realized, similar to that obtained when a human directly grabs objects. Therefore, the actuator has excellent portability, robustness, rapid response, and good compatibility with the human body for human–computer interaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials and Structures)
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11 pages, 2282 KiB  
Article
The FEM Model of the Pump Made of Dielectric Electroactive Polymer Membrane
by Jakub Kołota
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2283; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072283 - 27 Mar 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2993
Abstract
Dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs) undergo large deformations when subject to an electric field, which make them an attractive material for use in novel actuator systems. This article presents the possibility of using DEAPs to model an innovative pumping actuator structure. The model was [...] Read more.
Dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs) undergo large deformations when subject to an electric field, which make them an attractive material for use in novel actuator systems. This article presents the possibility of using DEAPs to model an innovative pumping actuator structure. The model was used to map important object parameters at individual operating points of the modeled pump. The experimental work involved designing the membrane and testing its changes in elasticity under the influence of varying forces and voltage supplies. In the further part of the work, a finite element model (FEM) of a pumping device was implemented. In the new construction of the pump, pressure is generated by membrane deformation. This is due to electrostatic compressive force between two electrodes applied to the polymer surface and forces generated by permanent magnets. The results are presented graphically, confirming the compliance of the model with the measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials and Structures)
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13 pages, 6407 KiB  
Article
A Jumping Robot Driven by a Dielectric Elastomer Actuator
by Bin Luo, Bingyang Li, Yuan Yu, Meng Yu, Jiaqi Ma, Weimin Yang, Pengfei Wang and Zhiwei Jiao
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2241; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072241 - 26 Mar 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4489
Abstract
Dielectric elastomer (DE) is a soft material that can deform to a large degree under the action of an electric field. In this paper, multilayer DE films were stacked in parallel to prepare a 20-layer dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). This DEA could provide [...] Read more.
Dielectric elastomer (DE) is a soft material that can deform to a large degree under the action of an electric field. In this paper, multilayer DE films were stacked in parallel to prepare a 20-layer dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). This DEA could provide a peak output force of 30 N, which significantly improves the driving performance of the DEA and provides conditions for large load driving of the DEA. As a new driving method, the DEA was applied to a jumping robot, and the heavy-weight robot accomplished jumping motion after several cycles of energy storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials and Structures)
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11 pages, 3305 KiB  
Article
Smart Devices Based on the Soft Actuator with Nafion-Polypropylene-PDMS/Graphite Multilayer Structure
by Yao Wei, Shihao Li, Xiaofan Zhang, Yanjun Fu and Kejian Chen
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(5), 1829; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10051829 - 6 Mar 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4037
Abstract
The demand for multi-functional soft actuators with simple fabrication and fast response to multiple stimuli is increasing in the field of smart devices. However, for existing actuators that respond to a single stimulus, it is difficult to meet the requirements of application diversity. [...] Read more.
The demand for multi-functional soft actuators with simple fabrication and fast response to multiple stimuli is increasing in the field of smart devices. However, for existing actuators that respond to a single stimulus, it is difficult to meet the requirements of application diversity. Herein, a type of multi-stimulus responsive soft actuator based on the Nafion-Polypropylene-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Graphite multilayer membranes is proposed. Such actuators have an excellent reversible response to optical/thermal and humidity stimulation, which can reach a 224.56° bending angle in a relative humidity of 95% within 5 s and a maximum bending angle of 324.65° in 31 s when the platform temperature is 80 °C, and has a faster response (<0.5 s) to optical stimuli, as an asymmetric structure allows it to bend in both directions. Based on such an actuator, some applications like flexible grippers and switches to carry items or control circuits, bionic flytraps to capture and release “prey”, have also been developed and studied. These provide potential applications in the fields of soft sensors, artificial skin and flexible robots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Materials and Structures)
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