Shape Memory Materials: New Design Concepts and Novel Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Shape Memory Materials are a hot topic in many scientific and technological fields where sensing and actuating are high-added-value properties; for instance, in sectors such as aerospace, robotic, bio-medical, wearable technologies, flexible electronic and MEMS. In the last decade, the number of novel materials exhibiting shape memory and/or superelasticity has increased with the irruption of shape memory polymers (SMP), shape memory and superelastic ceramics (SMC), and novel shape memory alloy (SMA) families. This development also opens the way for the design of new shape-memory based composites (SM-Comp).

All these shape memory materials are expected to offer particular abilities and performances, and each kind of material would be better adapted for some specific environment working conditions and requirements than the other ones. Consequently, all these shape memory materials will compete in the same “materials market” and a global vision of their particularities and advantages will be a fundamental starting point to afford new challenges on the coming applications of shape memory materials.

This Special Issue is focused on the emerging concepts allowing the design of new or improved shape memory and superelastic performances, as well as in the characterization of the microstructure and properties of novel shape memory materials. Topics include, but not limited to:

• Design and development of shape memory alloys based actuators;
• New concepts on the design of shape memory alloys, as for instance developing small hysteresis, or controlling memory effect during partial cycling;
• New concepts on the design of shape memory polymeric materials, as for instance improving strength and temperature range by chemical design;
• New Concepts on the development of shape memory and/or superelastic materials at small scale;
• Novel shape memory alloys (SMA), as for instance high temperature shape memory alloys, new iron-based SMA or new magnetic SMA;
• Novel shape memory polymers (SMP), as for instance new families of SMP or designed with improved performances;
• Novel shape memory or superelastic ceramics, designed for high temperature;
• Novel shape-memory based composites designed for specific applications;
• New trends in production technologies, as for instance shape memory materials produced by Additive Manufacturing;
• New trends in shape memory applications for emerging technologies;
• New trends in shape memory materials at small scale, SMEMS.

I hope that new ideas will promote a fast development of this exciting topic of shape memory materials, and I invite you to submit your contributions to this Special Issue with the best of your research activities.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Spaggiari
Guest Editor

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