Smart materials: Properties, design and mechatronic applications

TLDR

Many semi‑active devices such as dampers, brakes, or clutches based on magnetorheological fluids are commercially available, and several applications of piezo actuators and shape‑memory devices exist, especially in micro‑actuation. This paper describes the properties and engineering applications of smart materials, especially in mechatronics. The authors focus on magnetorheological fluids, shape‑memory alloys, and piezoelectric materials, explaining their physics and providing basic equations for system design. The paper assists designers in feasibility studies and offers a comprehensive survey of market applications of magnetorheological fluids, piezoelectric devices, and shape‑memory alloys across industrial, biomedical, civil, and automotive sectors.

Abstract

This paper describes the properties and the engineering applications of the smart materials, especially in the mechatronics field. Even though there are several smart materials which all are very interesting from the research perspective, we decide to focus the work on just three of them. The adopted criterion privileges the most promising technologies in terms of commercial applications available on the market, namely: magnetorheological fluids, shape memory alloys and piezoelectric materials. Many semi-active devices such as dampers or brakes or clutches, based on magnetorheological fluids are commercially available; in addition, we can trace several applications of piezo actuators and shape memory-based devices, especially in the field of micro actuations. The work describes the physics behind these three materials and it gives some basic equations to dimension a system based on one of these technologies. The work helps the designer in a first feasibility study for the applications of one of these smart materials inside an industrial context. Moreover, the paper shows a complete survey of the applications of magnetorheological fluids, piezoelectric devices and shape memory alloys that have hit the market, considering industrial, biomedical, civil and automotive field.