SMART MATERIALS

SMART MATERIALS
 PIEZOELECRIC MATERIALS
• PIEZOELECRIC MATERIALS, has the ability to
convert mechanical energy into electric energy and
vice versa.
• The direct piezoelectric direct effect effect is that these
materials, when subjected to mechanical stress,
generate an electric charge proportional to that stress.
• The inverse inverse effect piezoelectric effect is that
these materials become strained when an electric field
is applied, the strain again being proportional to the
applied field.
• Clever use of piezoelectric materials enables the
realization of a wide variety of technical functions.
What is a Piezoelectric Transducer?
• A transducer converts one form of energy into another ‒
In the case of a piezoelectric transducer the transduction
is from mechanical energy to electrical energy
• The prefix “piezo” is a Greek word meaning “to squeeze”
• Materials that produce an electric charge when a force is
applied to them exhibit what is known as the piezoelectric
effect
• Many piezoelectric materials are known to exist ‒
Quartz, tourmaline, ceramic (PZT), GAPO4 and many
others
 Piezoelectric Transducer
• The active element in all piezoelectric devices is a piece of
piezoelectric material.

• There are many different sensor designs based on various

crystal cuts and materials.

• The common types (modes) of piezoelectric sensors in use

today are:

‒ Voltage mode (IEPE, LIVM, ICP, Piezotron, Isotron)

‒ Charge mode

‒ Each of these designs have their advantages and disadvantages

 Applications
• Mobile phones, automotive electronics, medical

technology, and industrial systems are only a few areas

where piezoelectric components are indispensable.

• Echoes to capture the image of an unborn baby in a womb

make use of piezoelectricity.

• Even in a parking sensor at the back of our car,

piezoelectric material is present

PIEZOELECTRICITY-AN ELECTRO MECHANICALCOUPLING
PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS
PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT
APPLICATIONS
PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT
APPLICATIONS........
PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT
APPLICATIONS..........
 SHAPEMEMORY ALLOYS
• Shape memory alloys (SMA's) exhibit two very
unique properties, pseudo-elasticity, and the
shape memory effect
• Ti-Ni-based shape memory alloys have been
widely used as actuators, sensors, and medical
devices because of their excellent shape
memory properties as well as super-elasticity,
good mechanical strength and ductility, these
properties are related to the thermo-elastic
phase transformation
 SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY–NITINOL

• What is it?
One type of shape memory alloy is Nitinol, which is short
for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Laboratory and which
acknowledges the site of its discovery in 1965
• Where does it get its name?
Nitinol is an alloy of about 56 % Nickel and 44 % Titanium.
(Hence the name: Ni–Ti–Naval Ordinance Laboratory)
• What does it do?
Nitinol “remembers” its original shape and springs back up
to temperatures up to 500 degrees C. Can be strained 8 to
10 times more than spring steel without permanent
deformation.
 HOW DOES NITINOL WORK?
• Nitinol is made of Nickel and Titanium
• Most solids have one crystal structure, but Nitinol has two
• The crystal structure is different at cold and hot temperatures
• At cold temps it is soft and easy to bend but at hot temps it is stiff
and springy.
 SHAPE MEMORY EFFECT

• Shape Memory Alloys consist of a group of metallic

materials that demonstrate the ability to return to some
previously defined shape or size when subjected to the
appropriate thermal procedure.

• Some examples of these alloys are Ag-Cd, Au-Cd, Cu-Al-

Ni, Cu-Sn, Cu-Zn-(X), In-Ti, Ni-Al, Ni-Ti, Fe-Pt, Mn-Cu,
and Fe-Mn-Si
• The SME occurs due to a temperature and stress
dependent shift in the material’s crystalline structure
between two different phases called martensite and
austenite.

• Martensite, the low temperature phase, is relatively soft

whereas Austenite, the high temperature phase, is
relatively hard.
• For a simple example of the SME in action, consider the
following.

• If a straight bar of some SMA in its austenitic (high

temperature) phase is allowed to cool below the phase
transition temperature, the crystalline structure will
change to martensite.

• If the bar is subsequently plastically deformed, by say

bending, and then reheated above the phase transition
temperature, it will return to its original straight
configuration.
Material Crystalline Arrangement During the
Shape Memory Effect
Superelasticity – One-way shape
memory effect
The Shape Memory Effect
Pseudo-elasticity
• Within the typical operating temperature range, SMAs have
two phases, each with a different crystal structure and
therefore different properties.
• One is the high temperature phase called austenite (A) and
the other is the low temperature phase called martensite (M).
• Austenite (generally cubic) has a different crystal structure
from martensite (tetragonal, orthorhombic or monoclinic).
• The transformation from one structure to the other does not
occur by diffusion of atoms, but rather by shear lattice
distortion.
• Such a transformation is known as martensitic transformation.
• Each martensitic crystal formed can have a different
orientation direction, called a variant.
• The assembly of martensitic variants can exist in two
forms: twinned martensite (Mt), which is formed by a
combination of “self-accommodated” martensitic variants,
and detwinned or reoriented martensite in which a specific
variant is dominant (Md).
• The reversible phase transformation from austenite
(parent phase) to martensite (product phase) and vice
versa forms the basis for the unique behavior of SMAs.
Temperature-induced phase transformation
of an SMA without mechanical loading
 Temperature-induced phase transformation of an SMA
without mechanical loading ........
• There are four characteristic temperatures associated with the phase
transformation.

• During the forward transformation, austenite, under zero load, begins to

transform to twinned martensite at the martensitic start temperature (Ms)
and completes transformation to martensite at the martensitic finish
temperature (Mf ).

• At this stage, the transformation is complete and the material is fully in

the twinned martensitic phase.

• Similarly, during heating, the reverse transformation initiates at the

austenitic start temperature (As) and the transformation is completed at
the austenitic finish temperature (Af ).
Shape memory effect of an SMA, the detwinning of the
material with an applied stress.......

• If a mechanical load is applied to the material in the twinned

martensitic phase (at low temperature), it is possible to detwin
the martensite by reorienting a certain number of variants

• The detwinning process results in a macroscopic shape

change, where the deformed configuration is retained when
the load is released.
• A subsequent heating of the SMA to a temperature above Af
will result in a reverse phase transformation (from detwinned
martensite to austenite) and will lead to complete shape
recovery
 Shape memory effect of an SMA, the detwinning of the
material with an applied stress.......
• Cooling back to a temperature below Mf (forward transformation)
leads to the formation of twinned martensite again with no associated
shape change observed.
• The process described above is referred to as the Shape Memory
Effect (SME).
• The load applied must be sufficiently large to start the detwinning
process.
• The minimum stress required for detwinning initiation is termed the
detwinning start stress (σs).
• Sufficiently high load levels will result in complete detwinning of
martensite where the corresponding stress level is called the
detwinning finish stress (σf ).
Shape memory effect of an SMA, the detwinning of the
material with an applied stress
Schematic of the shape memory effect of an SMA
showing the unloading and subsequent heating to
austenite under no load condition
Stress -Strain Relationship of a Shape
Memory Alloy
Hysteresis Loops in Shape Memory Alloys
Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) Shape Memory Alloy
• The following characteristics of Ni-Ti make it stand out
from the other SMA’s:

• Greater ductility,

• More recoverable motion,

• Excellent corrosion resistance (comparable to series

300 stainless steels),

• Stable transformation temperatures, high bio-

compatability, and the ability to be electrically heated for
shape recovery
 NiTinol Properties
• Shape memory alloys based on Ni and Ti has today
provided the best combination of material properties for
most commercial applications.
• The discovery took place at NOL, the Naval Ordnance
Laboratory and hence the acronym NiTi-NOL or Nitinol
• Although its cost is still high, it is popular due to its
strong SME behaviour with transformation strains of
approximately 8%
 NiTinol.... Properties
• The large force generated upon returning to its
original shape is a very useful property.
• Other useful properties of Nitinol are its "excellent
damping characteristics at temperatures below the
transition temperature range, its corrosion
resistance, its nonmagnetic nature, its low density
and its high fatigue strength“
• Nitinol is also to an extent impact- and heatresistant
 APPLICATIONS
Bioengineering:
• Biomedical applications of SMA have been extremely successful
because of the functional properties of these alloys, increasing
both the possibility and the performance of minimally invasive
surgeries.
• The biocompatibility of these alloys is one of the important points
related to their biomedical applications as orthopaedic implants,
cardiovascular devices, and surgical instruments, as well as
orthodontic devices and endodontic files.
• Broken bones can be mended with shape memory alloys.
• Memory metals also apply to hip replacements, considering the
high level of super-elasticity.
 APPLICATIONS. . . . .
• For clogged blood vessels, an alloy to be is crushed and
inserted into the clogged veins. Since the memory metal
has a memory transfer temperature close to body heat, the
memory metal expands to open the clogged arteries.

• Dental wires used for braces and dental arch wires,

memory alloys maintain their shape since they are at a
constant temperature, and because of the super elasticity
of the memory metal, the wires retain their original shape
after stress has been applied and removed.
 APPLICATIONS. . . . .
• SMAs can be designed to restrict water flow by reacting at
different temperatures, which is important to prevent
scalding.

• Fire and security systems lines in industries that involve

petrochemicals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and large
oil and gas boilers.

• For many applications that deal with a heated fluid flowing

through tubes, or wire and ribbon applications where it is
crucial for the alloys to maintain their shape in the midst of a
heated environment, memory metals are ideal.
 APPLICATIONS. . . . .
• In certain commercials, eyeglass companies demonstrate
eyeglass frames that can be bent back and forth, and retain
their shape.

 These frames are made of memory metals as well, and

demonstrate super-elasticity.

• In helicopter blades: Performance for helicopter blades

depend on vibrations with memory metals in micro
processing control tabs for the trailing ends of the blades,
pilots can fly with increased precision.
APPLICATIONS OF SHAPEMEMORY ALLOYS
 FERROELECTIC EFFECT
• The ferroelectric effect is an electrical phenomenon
whereby certain crystals may exhibit a spontaneous dipole
moment (which is called ferroelectric by analogy with
ferromagnetic - exhibiting a permanent magnetic moment).

• A ferroelectric material is a material that exhibits, over

some range of temperature, a spontaneous electric
polarisation that can be reversed or reoriented by
application of an electric field
 What is Ferroelectric Property?
• When an electric field is applied to a dielectric,
polarisation occurs and dipoles becomes aligned with
the field
• When the field is removed, the polarisation generally
vanishes
• There are, however, some materials which retains some
polarisation when the field is removed
• Such materials are called ferroelectric materials, Barium
Titanate (BaTio3 ) is such a material
• The temperature up to 125oC (Curie point), BaTio3
exibits ferroelectric property
 FERROELECTIC MATERIALS

• Some of the more common/significant

materials include:

• Lead titanate, PbTiO3

• Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)

• Lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT)

 FERROELECTIC EFFECT.......
• A necessary criterion is the requirement of an ever-
present spontaneous polarisation, with the requirement
of reversibility or reorientation of that spontaneous
polarisation being a sufficient criterion for
a ferroelectric phase.

• An exclusion from the definition of ferroelectrics is those

materials belonging to non-polar crystal classes at all
temperatures, and in which a metastable polarisation
can be induced by an external electric field.
 Applications of Ferromagnetic materials
• Dynamic random access memories (DRAMS),

• Non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories micro-armours

• Infrared sensors

• Capacitors

• Non-volatile memory

• Piezoelectrics for ultrasound imaging and actuators

• Electro-optic materials for data storage applications

• Thermistors

• Switches known as transchargers or transpolarizers

• Oscillators and filters

• Light deflectors, modulators and displays