Table of contents

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibit a memory effect which causes the alloy to return to its original shape when heated beyond the transformation temperature. In this study, we show that SMA can be heated remotely by laser and the resulting deformation can be converted into electricity through a piezoelectric bimorph. In addition, the laser actuated SMA deformation can also be used to provide controlled actuation. We provide experimental results demonstrating both the power harvesting and actuation behavior as a function of laser pulse rate. SMA used in this study exhibited higher absorption in the ultraviolet region which progressively decreased as the absorption wavelength increased. Raman analysis revealed TiO₂ formation on the surface of SMA, whose concentration increased irreversibly with temperature. Negligible changes in the surface oxidation were detected in the working temperature range (<150 °C).

Two stainless steel templates were fabricated using electric-spark machining, and a hierarchical surface texture of ionic polymer was produced using both polishing and replication methods, which produced microscale and nanoscale groove-shaped microstructures at the surface of the polymer. The surface morphology of the Nafion membrane and metal electrode were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). SEM and EDS line-scan analysis indicated that the interfacial surface area was considerably increased and an excellent metal electrode was obtained with the production of a hierarchical surface texture. The displacement, blocking force, and electric current were measured using home-built apparatus. The results revealed that the combined polishing and replication method significantly improved the electromechanical performance of the ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC). Compared with sandblasted Nafion-based IPMC, the blocking force, displacement, and electric current of the replicated Nafion-based IPMC were 4.39, 2.35, and 1.87 times higher, respectively. The IPMC fabricated in this work exhibited a competitive blocking force compared with recently reported actuators.

This paper presents a novel type of magneto-rheological (MR) actuator called a bi-directional magneto-rheological (BMR) actuator and accurate torque control results considering both hysteresis and friction compensation. The induced torque of this actuator varies from negative to positive values. As a result, it can work as either a brake or a clutch depending on the scheme of current input. In our work, the configuration of the actuator as well as its driving system is presented first. Subsequently, a congruency hysteresis based (CBH) model to take account of the effect of the hysteresis is proposed. After that, a compensator based on this model is developed. In addition, the effect of dry friction, which exists inherently with MR actuators in general, is also considered. In order to assess the effectiveness of the hysteresis compensator, several experiments on modeling and control of the actuator with different waveforms are carried out.

Recently, magneto-rheological (MR) elastomer-based base isolation systems have been actively studied as alternative smart base isolation systems because MR elastomers are capable of adjusting their modulus or stiffness depending on the magnitude of the applied magnetic field. By taking advantage of the MR elastomers' stiffness-tuning ability, MR elastomer-based smart base isolation systems strive to alleviate limitations of existing smart base isolation systems as well as passive-type base isolators. Until now, research on MR elastomer-based base isolation systems primarily focused on characterization, design, and numerical evaluations of MR elastomer-based isolators, as well as experimental tests with simple structure models. However, their applicability to large civil structures has not been properly studied yet because it is quite challenging to numerically emulate the complex behavior of MR elastomer-based isolators and to conduct experiments with large-size structures. To address these difficulties, this study employs the real-time hybrid simulation technique, which combines physical testing and computational modeling. The primary goal of the current hybrid simulation study is to evaluate seismic performances of an MR elastomer-based smart base isolation system, particularly its adaptability to distinctly different seismic excitations. In the hybrid simulation, a single-story building structure (non-physical, computational model) is coupled with a physical testing setup for a smart base isolation system with associated components (such as laminated MR elastomers and electromagnets) installed on a shaking table. A series of hybrid simulations is carried out under two seismic excitations having different dominant frequencies. The results show that the proposed smart base isolation system outperforms the passive base isolation system in reducing the responses of the structure for the excitations considered in this study.

Since service robots perform their functions in close proximity to humans, they are much more likely than other types of robot to come into contact with humans. This means that safety regarding robot–human interaction is of particular concern and requires investigation. Existing tactile sensing methods are very effective at detecting external dangerous loadings; however, until now, they have been very expensive.

Recently, a new type of self-sensing tactile technology for service robots has been introduced, which harnesses the piezoelectric effect of several robot skin materials. In these kinds of system, relatively cheap materials are used as sensors themselves. In this research, a robot system with a self-sensing tactile technology was developed using piezoelectric robot skin materials. The test results indicate that this type of system is appropriate for application to service robots.

Harvesting small thermal gradients effectively to generate electricity still remains a challenge. Ujihara et al (2007 Appl. Phys. Lett.91 093508) have recently proposed a thermo-magnetic energy harvester that incorporates a combination of hard and soft magnets on a vibrating beam structure and two opposing heat transfer surfaces. This design has many advantages and could present an optimum solution to harvest energy in low temperature gradient conditions. In this paper, we describe a multi-physics numerical model for this harvester configuration that incorporates all the relevant parameters, including heat transfer, magnetic force, beam vibration, contact surface and piezoelectricity. The model was used to simulate the complete transient behavior of the system. Results are presented for the evolution of the magnetic force, changes in the internal temperature of the soft magnet (gadolinium (Gd)), thermal contact conductance, contact pressure and heat transfer over a complete cycle. Variation of the vibration frequency with contact stiffness and gap distance was also modeled. Limit cycle behavior and its bifurcations are illustrated as a function of device parameters. The model was extended to include a piezoelectric energy harvesting mechanism and, using a piezoelectric bimorph as spring material, a maximum power of 318 μW was predicted across a 100 kΩ external load.

In this paper, the stress sensing performance of two well-known mechanoluminescence (ML) sensing materials, (1) SrAl₂O₄:Eu (SAOE) and (2) SrAl₂O₄:Eu, Dy (SAOED), has been experimentally studied. Under the same input loadings and strain rates, changes of the light intensity have been characterized in terms of sensitivity, repeatability and linearity. Effects of the strain rate on the light intensity changes have also been investigated for both ML sensing materials. SAOED appears to perform better as an ML stress sensor than SAOE because it shows higher sensitivity and no saturation of light during the loading history. Although SAOE showed saturation of light emissions, its initial sensitivity to loading was higher than that of SAOED. Therefore, SAOE appears to be more suitable for sensors for monitoring dynamic active cracks.

This paper investigates the applicability of an electromagnetic generator with repulsively stacked magnets for harvesting energy from traffic-induced bridge vibrations. First, the governing equation for electro-mechanical coupling is presented. The magnetic field for repulsive pole arrangements is discussed and the model is validated from a magnet falling test. The detailed design, fabrication, and test results of a prototype device are presented in the paper. An experimental vibration shaker test is conducted to assess the performance of the energy harvester. Field test and numerical simulation at the 3rd Nongro Bridge in South Korea shows that the device can generate an average power of 0.12 mW from an input rms acceleration of 0.25 m s⁻² at 4.10 Hz. With further frequency tuning and design improvement, an average power of 0.98 mW could be potentially harvested from the ambient vibration of the bridge.

The main purpose of this paper is to develop numerical models for the prediction and analysis of the highly nonlinear behavior of integrated structure control systems subjected to high impact loading. A time-delayed adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (TANFIS) is proposed for modeling of the complex nonlinear behavior of smart structures equipped with magnetorheological (MR) dampers under high impact forces. Experimental studies are performed to generate sets of input and output data for training and validation of the TANFIS models. The high impact load and current signals are used as the input disturbance and control signals while the displacement and acceleration responses from the structure–MR damper system are used as the output signals. The benchmark adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is used as a baseline. Comparisons of the trained TANFIS models with experimental results demonstrate that the TANFIS modeling framework is an effective way to capture nonlinear behavior of integrated structure–MR damper systems under high impact loading. In addition, the performance of the TANFIS model is much better than that of ANFIS in both the training and the validation processes.

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart materials that can fix a temporary shape and recover to their permanent (original) shape in response to an environmental stimulus such as heat, electricity, or irradiation, among others. Most SMPs developed in the past can only demonstrate the so-called one-way shape memory effect; i.e., one programming step can only yield one shape memory cycle. Recently, one of the authors (Mather) developed a SMP that exhibits both one-way shape memory (1W-SM) and two-way shape memory (2W-SM) effects (with the assistance of an external load). This SMP was further used to develop a free-standing composite actuator with a nonlinear reversible actuation under thermal cycling. In this paper, a theoretical model for the PCO SMP based composite actuator was developed to investigate its thermomechanical behavior and the mechanisms for the observed phenomena during the actuation cycles, and to provide insight into how to improve the design.

The electroresponsive, dielectric and swelling behavior of semi-interpenetrated polymer network (semi-IPN) gel films prepared from chitosan (CS) and N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DA) were investigated and compared with those CS film. CS–DA semi-IPN films were also characterized by Fourier transform infrared, x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The electrosensitivity of CS–DA films to an electric field was investigated by determining their bending at 8 V in (0.05 M/0.1 M/0.15 M) NaCl solution. Equilibrium swelling values of CS–DA films both in distilled water and buffer solution with pH = 2.2 decreased with poly-DA (PDA) content of the films. While the maximum decomposition of CS film took place at about 296 °C, the presence of PDA in CS–DA semi-IPN films reduced the thermal stability, and their maximum decomposition temperature shifted from 261 to 240 °C with the increase in PDA content. In addition, the PDA network led to a decrease in the dielectric constant (ε'), dielectric loss (ε'') and conductance (σ) of CS–DA semi-IPN films in the frequency range between 12 Hz and 100 kHz. The values of electric modulus and impedance, and Cole–Cole plots confirmed that the conductance values of CS–DA films are lower than that of CS film. The PDA network also led CS–DA films to respond more slowly to electric field. The increase in NaCl concentration in the bending medium increased the response rate of CS–DA films to an electric field. The final bending angle of all CS–DA films was 90°, and it was not dependent on either NaCl concentration or PDA content of the films.

Bridge scour is a major cause of bridge failures and has emerged as a significant concern for bridge engineers. Most previous studies focus on investigating causes of the scour but not on its consequences, in other words, very few studies have been carried out on the response and feature changes of structures due to scour. Therefore, the present paper mainly studied the scour effect on a single pile or pier. A theoretical solution was derived first to obtain the relationship between the scour depth and the pile response, including static and dynamic responses. Since the expression of the solution is tedious and not easy to understand, two examples were used for the demonstration and parametric study. Based on the numerical observation, the present study proposed three possible methods for detecting and monitoring the bridge scour. Finally, a monitoring system using fiber optic sensors was designed and tested in the laboratory to verify the theoretical and numerical results and the monitoring mechanisms.

Concrete structures rely greatly on the integrity of their supporting rebars to remain serviceable for their intended purposes. Unfortunately, rebars are vulnerable to corrosion due to the ingress of water from the environment, which often also carries a multitude of ionic particles that encourage corrosion. Liquid phase water may enter the structure through cracks that may not be obvious to human observation. Thus, a fiber Bragg grating sensor was designed that is able to detect (i.e. 'on–off') the presence of liquid water in order to provide an early warning signal for the ingress of water. Two tests were conducted to verify the functionality of the sensor: the first experiment tested the repeatability of the sensor to cyclic input of various volumes of water, and the second tested the sensor's response to flooding conditions. The sensor showed a good repeatability, with fast response times (<10 min to reach a level guaranteeing the presence of water) and a recovery time of 11–15 h, depending on the input volume. The flooding test showed similar performance and viability of the sensor during flooding conditions.

A novel and practical acoustic energy harvesting mechanism to harvest traveling sound at low audible frequency is introduced and studied both experimentally and numerically. The acoustic energy harvester in this study contains a quarter-wavelength straight tube resonator with lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric cantilever plates placed inside the tube. When the tube resonator is excited by an incident sound at its acoustic resonance frequency, the amplified acoustic pressure inside the tube drives the vibration motions of piezoelectric plates, resulting in the generation of electricity. To increase the total voltage and power, multiple PZT plates were placed inside the tube. The number of PZT plates to maximize the voltage and power is limited due to the interruption of air particle motion by the plates. It has been found to be more beneficial to place the piezoelectric plates in the first half of the tube rather than along the entire tube. With an incident sound pressure level of 100 dB, an output voltage of 5.089 V was measured. The output voltage increases linearly with the incident sound pressure. With an incident sound pressure of 110 dB, an output voltage of 15.689 V and a power of 12.697 mW were obtained. The corresponding areal and volume power densities are 0.635 mW cm⁻² and 15.115 μW cm⁻³, respectively.

This work investigates adaptive bio-inspired pressure cellular structures for shape morphing. Optimum designs for cellular structures with void and pressure cells are proposed and then structural analyses are conducted. In the present design, a unit cell is comprised of straight and curved walls. When compressed air is pumped into a pressure cell, the curved walls deform in bending due to the pressure difference in two adjacent cells that leads to overall structural deformation in extension. One-dimensional actuation strain up to 35% can be theoretically achieved. In part I, we present basic design concepts and cellular mechanics. Unlike conventional structural analysis for cellular structures, a statically indeterminate unit cell is considered and novel analytical formulations are derived for the present pressurized cellular structures in linear and nonlinear analyses. In part II, we will present experimental testing and finite element analysis to demonstrate the feasibility of the present pressurized cellular actuators for morphing wings and to validate the present cellular mechanics formulations.

This part presents finite element analysis to verify the present formulations on mechanics of the pressurized cellular structures derived in Part I and experimental testing for a pressurized cellular actuator to demonstrate feasibility and realization of the proposed pressurized cellular structures. Linear and nonlinear finite element analyses are implemented in a commercial finite element analysis package and the numerical results are compared with those of the novel formulations given in Part I. A pressurized cellular structure specimen with 3 cells is fabricated and tested. The fabricated 3-cell cellular structure is capable of yielding a free actuation strain of around 24%. The measured pressure-induced displacement and blocking force compare favorably with the numerical results predicted by the finite element analysis and analytical formulations.

In this paper a novel electromagnetic vibration type energy harvester that uses a diamagnetic levitation system is conceptualized, designed, fabricated, and tested. The harvester uses two diamagnetic plates made of pyrolytic graphite between which a cylindrical magnet levitates passively. Two thick cylindrical coils, placed in grooves which are engraved in the pyrolytic graphite plates, are used to convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy efficiently. The geometric configurations of the coils are selected based on the field distribution of the magnet to enhance the efficiency of the harvester. A thorough theoretical analysis is carried out to compare with experimental results. At an input power of 103.45 μW and at a frequency of 2.7 Hz, the harvester generated a power of 0.74 μW with a system efficiency of 0.72%. Both theoretical and experimental results show that this new energy harvesting system can capture low frequency broadband spectra.

RAPID (reconstruction algorithm for the probabilistic inspection of damage) is a new promising tomography approach for the detection and monitoring of critical areas in a structure. With the sensors permanently installed on or embedded in structures, changes in effective thickness and material properties caused by structural damage can be detected and mapped to the tomogram. However, in this method, the tomographic feature SDC (signal difference coefficient) captures the overall change of the received ultrasonic signals, which makes it sensitive to environmental factors (e.g. rain, changes in temperature and humidity). As a result, the approach is restricted in the laboratory environment. In this paper, the influence of measurement data length on the SDC and the tomogram are investigated, and a new strategy is established on how to choose the measurement data to obtain good reconstruction by matching the coverage zone of each transmitter–receiver pair with the corresponding affected zone. The proposed method is then applied to identify defects of the specimen in the presence of external sources of interference, such as water droplets and structural variations outside the critical area. The results demonstrate its capability of improved robustness in the presence of external sources of interference.

A model based on linear electromechanical coupling theory is developed to analyze the performance of a piezoelectric cantilevered energy harvester (PCEH) with an imperfectly bonded interface. The PCEH is made of a piezoelectric layer bonded to a metallic layer and works in flexural mode. The imperfectly bonded interface is modeled by the shear-lag model. A sixth-order governing differential equation is derived and its analytical solution is obtained. The effect of the interfacial property on the dynamic behaviors and the electrical power output of the vibration-based PCEH is investigated. The presented results demonstrate that the interfacial property plays a critical role in the performance characteristics of the PCEHs.

We deposited ferroelectric (Pb_0.92La_0.08)(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ films of ≈0.35 to ≈3.1 μm in thickness on platinized silicon substrates by chemical solution deposition. A dielectric constant of ≈1350 and dielectric loss of ≈0.04 were measured at room temperature. Hysteresis loop tests revealed that the remanent polarization increases while the coercive field decreases with PLZT film thickness. The residual stress in the PLZT films, as determined by the x-ray diffraction sin²ψ method, decreased from ≈380 to ≈200 MPa when the film thickness increased from 0.35 to 3.1 μm. The dependence of the residual stress (σ) on the PLZT film thickness (t) can be described by an empirical equation, σ = A₀exp(−t²/λ²), with A₀ ≈ 390 MPa and λ ≈ 3.8 μm.

Burst-mode operation is adopted sometimes in piezoelectric transformer based converters for two major purposes: (1) to achieve voltage regulation in DC/DC converters and (2) to achieve dimming control in backlight inverters. Burst-mode control enables the converter to operate at a constant switching frequency as well as to maintain good efficiency at light load conditions. However, in practice, the piezoelectric transformer cannot instantly stop vibrating in the burst-mode due to its high quality factor. The delay in the output voltage change resulting from this behavior influences the accuracy of the regulation. This paper proposes a control strategy to make the piezoelectric transformer stop more quickly so as to enhance the accuracy of burst-mode control. The proposed method only modifies the control signal of the burst-mode driving circuit. The proposed control strategy is verified by experiments in a step-down 9 W DC/DC converter.

In this work, we present an electromechanically coupled efficient layerwise finite element model for the static response of piezoelectric laminated composite and sandwich plates, considering the nonlinear behavior of piezoelectric materials under strong electric field. The nonlinear model is developed consistently using a variational principle, considering a rotationally invariant second order nonlinear constitutive relationship, and full electromechanical coupling. In the piezoelectric layer, the electric potential is approximated to have a quadratic variation across the thickness, as observed from exact three dimensional solutions, and the equipotential condition of electroded piezoelectric surfaces is modeled using the novel concept of an electric node. The results predicted by the nonlinear model compare very well with the experimental data available in the literature. The effect of the piezoelectric nonlinearity on the static response and deflection/stress control is studied for piezoelectric bimorph as well as hybrid laminated plates with isotropic, angle-ply composite and sandwich substrates. For high electric fields, the difference between the nonlinear and linear predictions is large, and cannot be neglected. The error in the prediction of the smeared counterpart of the present theory with the same number of primary displacement unknowns is also examined.

We present a novel all-silicone prestrain-locked interpenetrating polymer network (all-S-IPN) elastomer for use as a muscle-like actuator. The elastomer is fabricated using a combination of two silicones: a soft room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone that serves as the host elastomer matrix, and a more rigid high temperature vulcanizing (HTV) silicone that acts to preserve the prestrain in the host network. In our novel S-IPN fabrication procedure we co-dissolve the RTV and HTV silicones in a common solvent, cast thin films, and allow the RTV silicone to cure before applying prestrain and finally curing the HTV silicone to lock in the prestrain. The free-standing prestrain-locked silicones show a performance improvement over standard free-standing silicone films, with a linear strain of 25% and an area strain of 45% when tested in a diaphragm configuration. We show that the process can also be used to improve electrode adhesion and stability as well as improve the interlayer adhesion in multilayer actuators. We demonstrate that, when coupled with carbon nanotube electrodes, fault-tolerance through self-clearing can be observed. We use the fault-tolerance and improved interlayer adhesion to demonstrate stable long-life (>30 000 cycles at >20% strain) actuation and repeated high-performance actuation (>500 cycles at ∼40% strain) of prestrained free-standing multilayer actuators driving a load.

We introduce a family of soft-matter capacitors and inductors composed of microchannels of liquid-phase gallium–indium–tin alloy (galinstan) embedded in a soft silicone elastomer (Ecoflex^® 00-30). In contrast to conventional (rigid) electronics, these circuit elements remain electronically functional even when stretched to several times their natural length. As the surrounding elastomer stretches, the capacitance and inductance of the embedded liquid channels change monotonically. Using a custom-built loading apparatus, we experimentally measure relative changes in capacitance and inductance as a function of stretch in three directions. These experimental relationships are consistent with theoretical predictions that we derive with finite elasticity kinematics.

This paper presents a heating-responsive shape memory polymeric material, which is not only rubber-like at room temperature and above its shape recovery temperature, but also electrically conductive. This polymeric material is made of silicone, melting glue (MG), and carbon black (CB). The influence of volume fractions of MG and CB on the elasticity, electrical resistivity, and shape memory effect of the polymeric material is systematically investigated. The feasibility of Joule heating for shape recovery is experimentally demonstrated with an electric power of 31 V.

Among the broad class of electro-active polymers, dielectric elastomer actuators represent a rapidly growing technology for electromechanical transduction. In order to further develop this applied science, the high driving voltages currently needed must be reduced. For this purpose, one of the most widely considered approaches is based on making elastomeric composites with highly polarizable fillers in order to increase the dielectric constant while maintaining both low dielectric losses and high-mechanical compliance. In this work, multi-wall carbon nanotubes were first functionalized by grafting either acrylonitrile or diurethane monoacrylate oligomers, and then dispersed into a polyurethane matrix to make dielectric elastomer composites. The procedures for the chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes and proper characterizations of the obtained products are provided in detail. The consequences of the use of chemically modified carbon nanotubes as a filler, in comparison to using unmodified ones, were studied in terms of dielectric, mechanical and electromechanical response. In particular, an increment of the dielectric constant was observed for all composites throughout the investigated frequency spectrum, but only in the cases of modified carbon nanotubes did the loss factor remain almost unchanged with respect to the simple matrix, indicating that conductive percolation paths did not arise in such systems. An effective improvement in the actuation strain was observed for samples loaded with functionalized carbon nanotubes.

The effects of ambient temperature on the level of harvesting energy from galloping oscillations of a bluff body are investigated. A nonlinear-distributed-parameter model is developed to determine variations in the onset speed of galloping and the level of the harvested power when the ambient temperature is varied. The considered harvester consists of a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam with a prismatic-structure tip mass. A modal analysis is performed to derive the exact mode shapes and natural frequencies of the beam–structure system and their dependence on temperature variations. The quasi-steady representation is used to model the aerodynamic loads. The linear analysis shows that the temperature and the electrical load resistance affect the onset speed of galloping significantly. The nonlinear analysis shows that temperature variation affects the level of the harvested power.

In this paper, we study underwater energy harvesting from torsional vibrations of an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) with patterned electrodes. We focus on harmonic base excitation of a centimeter-size IPMC, which is modeled as a slender beam with thin cross-section vibrating in a viscous fluid. Large-amplitude torsional vibrations are described using a complex hydrodynamic function, which accounts for added mass and nonlinear hydrodynamic damping from the surrounding fluid. A linear black box model is utilized to predict the IPMC electrical response as a function of the total twist angle. Model parameters are identified from in-air transient response, underwater steady-state vibrations, and electrical discharge experiments. The resulting electromechanical model allows for predicting energy harvesting from the IPMC as a function of the shunting resistance and the frequency and amplitude of the base excitation. Model results are validated against experimental findings that demonstrate power harvesting densities on the order of picowatts per millimeter cubed.

An ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) actuator, which consists of a thin perfluorinated ionomer membrane and electrodes plated on both surfaces, undergoes a large bending motion when a low electric field is applied across its thickness. IPMC actuators are lightweight and soft and can operate in solutions. They are thus promising for a wide range of applications including MEMS sensors, artificial muscles, biomimetic systems, and medical devices. The deformation behavior of IPMC actuators depends on the pH of the working solution. However, their basic mechanism is not well understood. Therefore, this study investigates the deformation mechanism of an IPMC actuator with palladium electrodes in various pH solutions. The tip displacements of IPMC actuators were measured under a step voltage in various pH solutions. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and alternating-current (AC) impedance measurements were then performed to investigate the effects of pH on the electrochemical properties of IPMC actuators. The responses to a step voltage indicate that the deformation behavior of an IPMC actuator depends on the pH: a lower pH gives a larger maximum tip displacement and more pronounced relaxation. In CV measurements, a lower pH results in more active reduction on the palladium electrode. In AC impedance measurements, a lower pH leads to a greater charge transfer resistance and a smaller double layer capacitance in an acid solution. Based on these mechanical and electrochemical measurements, we conclude that the maximum tip displacement and relaxation are governed by reduction on the palladium electrode and that the residual tip displacement is related to the charge transfer resistance and the double layer capacitance. These results are helpful for the use and control of IPMC actuators.

It has been shown by many authors that temperature effect compensation is a necessity for the realization of a reliable structural health monitoring (SHM) system. However, there exist practical issues related to the acquisition of baseline signals, required for temperature compensation methods to work effectively, such as degenerate baseline signals recorded at the same temperature and a long acquisition period before monitoring is started. An alternative approach for the acquisition of baseline signals is presented in this paper. The algorithm makes the acquisition an evolutionary process, integrated in the damage detection procedures. The algorithm is shown to be successful in generating a concise set of baselines that guarantees efficient performance of temperature compensation methods, leading to computation time and computer memory savings. Its capabilities in detecting simulated abrupt and slowly evolving damages have also been tested.

A large-scale lifetime building monitoring program was implemented in Singapore in 2001. The monitoring aims of this unique program were to increase safety, verify performance, control quality, increase knowledge, optimize maintenance costs, and evaluate the condition of the structures after a hazardous event. The first instrumented building, which has now been monitored for more than ten years, is presented in this paper. The long-gauge fiber optic strain sensors were embedded in fresh concrete of ground-level columns, thus the monitoring started at the birth of both the construction material and the structure. Measurement sessions were performed during construction, upon completion of each new story and the roof, and after the construction, i.e., in-service. Based on results it was possible to follow and evaluate long-term behavior of the building through every stage of its life. The results of monitoring were analyzed at a local (column) and global (building) level. Over-dimensioning of one column was identified. Differential settlement of foundations was detected, localized, and its magnitude estimated. Post-tremor analysis was performed. Real long-term behavior of concrete columns was assessed. Finally, the long-term performance of the monitoring system was evaluated. The researched monitoring method, monitoring system, rich results gathered over approximately ten years, data analysis algorithms, and the conclusions on the structural behavior and health condition of the building based on monitoring are presented in this paper.

An automatic guided wave pulse position modulation system, using steel tubes as the communication channel, for detecting flooding in the hollow sub-sea structures of newly built offshore oilrigs is presented. Underwater close visual inspections (CVI) are normally conducted during swim-round surveys in pre-selected areas or areas suspected of damage. An acceptable alternative to CVI is a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique called flood member detection (FMD). Usually, this NDT technique employs ultrasound or x-rays to detect the presence of seawater in the tubular structures, requiring divers or remote operating vehicles (ROVs). The field-proven FMD technique, integrated within the concept of structural health monitoring, offers an alternative to these traditional inspection methods. The system employs two smart sensors and modulators, which transmit 40 kHz guided wave pulses, and a digital signal processing demodulator, which performs automatic detection of guided wave energy packets. Experiments were performed in dry conditions, inside and outside the laboratory; in the former using a steel tube 1.5 m×0.27 m×2 mm, and in the latter using a tubular steel heliport structure approximately 15 m×15 m in area and the base deck of an oilrig under construction. Results confirm that, although there was significant dispersion of the transmitted pulses, the system successfully distinguished automatically guided wave encoded information that could potentially be used in sub-sea oilrigs.

A coupled electro-mechanical FE approach was developed to investigate the piezoresistive response of carbon nanotube polymer composites. Gauge factors (GFs) and resistance variations of CNT–polymer composite systems were obtained by coupling Maxwell equations to mechanical loads and deformations through initial piezoresistive coefficients of the CNTs, the epoxy, and the tunnel regions, for different arrangements, percolated paths, tunnel distances, and tensile, compressive, and bending loading conditions. A scaling relation between GFs and applied strains was obtained to understand how variations in loading conditions and CNT arrangements affect sensing capabilities and piezoresistive carbon nanotube polymer composite behavior. These variations in GFs were then used to understand how the coupled strains, stresses and current densities vary for aligned and percolated paths for the different loading conditions, CNT arrangements, and tunnel distances. For the percolated path under tensile loading conditions, elastic strains as high as 16% and electrical conductivities that were four orders in magnitude greater than the initial matrix conductivity were obtained. Results for the three loading conditions clearly demonstrate that electrical conductivity and sensing capabilities can be optimized as a function of percolation paths, tunneling distance, orientation, and loading conditions for piezoresistive applications with large elastic strains and conductivities.

Ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) has a wide range of applications in robotics, biomedical devices and artificial muscles. The modeling of the IPMC actuator is a multi-physics task as it involves electricity, chemistry, dynamics and control. Due to its complexity and its nonlinearity, IPMC modeling is difficult and its behavior is still not fully agreed upon by researchers.

In this paper, a dynamic model of a cantilever IPMC actuator based on a distributed RC electrical circuit is developed. The RC transmission line theory is used to derive the simple analytical impedance and actuation model of an IPMC actuator. This method permits us to identify the current and voltage as functions of polymer length and frequency. First, an infinite-dimensional impedance model is developed and then replaced with a simple second-order electro-mechanical model using the Golubev method. The proposed modeling approach is validated using existing experimental data.

A series of epoxy-based shape-memory polymers (SMPs) was prepared by using diglycidyl ether of ethoxylated bisphenol-A containing two oxyethylene units and the curing agents iso-phorone diamine and Jeffamine D230. The thermal properties, dynamic mechanical properties, mechanical properties and shape-memory properties of the epoxy-based SMPs were systematically studied by DSC, DMTA, universal tester and fold-deploy experiments, respectively. The results showed that as the content of D230 increased, the glass transition temperature of the SMPs decreased from 77.5 ± 1.1 to 40 ± 0.7 °C according to DSC, the rubber modulus decreased gradually according to DMTA, and the tensile strength at room temperature (RT) decreased from 58.5 ± 0.3 to 27.0 ± 3.3 MPa according to tensile tests. Tensile tests above RT showed that the tensile stress and elongation at break depended heavily on the experimental temperature, and fold-deploy experiments showed that these SMPs had shape retention ratios higher than 95% and shape recovery ratios close to 100%.

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of a new magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) by using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a matrix. The base and curing agent of PDMS with a weight ratio of 10:1 were mixed first as the carrying matrix, and then carbonyl iron particles were added to the matrix and stirred sufficiently. The final mixture was placed in a vacuum chamber to eliminate bubbles for 30 min and was moulded later to form membranes of 1 mm thickness. A total of four PDMS based MRE samples, with different weight fractions of 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%, were fabricated. Their mechanical properties under both steady-state and dynamic loading conditions were tested. The effects of particle composition, magnetic field, strain amplitude and frequency on the MRE effects were summarized. With the increase of iron particle composition, the magnetorheological effects of the samples increase steadily. It is also noted that the initial modulus of the MRE samples shows an increasing trend with the iron particle composition. Additionally, the microstructures of the PDMS based MREs were also observed by a low vacuum scanning electric microscope (LV-SEM).