Table of contents

A series of CF₃-capped phenylacetylenes with varying symmetry is obtained by a conventional palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling protocol. The phenylacetylene targets form thin films both, liquid crystalline (LC) and crystalline in nature depending on their molecular structure. The magneto-optical activity of the resulting organic material is extraordinarily high as proved by Faraday rotation spectroscopy on thin film devices.

Bio-implantable devices have been used to perform therapeutic functions such as drug delivery or diagnostic monitoring of physiological parameters. Proper operation of these devices depends on the continuous reliable supply of power. A battery, which is the conventional method to supply energy, is problematic in many of these devices as it limits the lifetime of the implant or dominates the size. In order to power implantable devices, power transfer techniques have been implemented as an attractive alternative to batteries and have received significant research interest in recent years. Acoustic waves are increasingly being investigated as a method for delivering power through human skin and the human body. Acoustic power transfer (APT) has some advantages over other powering techniques such as inductive power transfer and mid range RF power transmission. These advantages include lower absorption in tissue, shorter wavelength enabling smaller transducers, and higher power intensity threshold for safe operation. This paper will cover the basic physics and modeling of APT and will review the current state of acoustic (or ultrasonic) power transfer for biomedical implants. As the sensing and computational elements for biomedical implants are becoming very small, we devote particular attention to the scaling of acoustic and alternative power transfer techniques. Finally, we present current issues and challenges related to the implementation of this technique for powering implantable devices.

We present an explicit model to study the mechanics and physics of the shape memory effect (SME) in polymers based on the Takayanagi principle. The molecular structural characteristics and elastic behavior of shape memory polymers (SMPs) with multi-phases are investigated in terms of the thermomechanical properties of the individual components, of which the contributions are combined by using Takayanagi's series-parallel model and parallel-series model, respectively. After that, Boltzmann superposition principle is employed to couple the multi-SME, elastic modulus parameter (E) and temperature parameter (T) in SMPs. Furthermore, the extended Takayanagi model is proposed to separate the plasticizing effect and physical swelling effect on the thermo-/chemo-responsive SME in polymers and then compared with the available experimental data reported in the literature. This study is expected to provide a powerful simulation tool for modeling and experimental substantiation of the mechanics and working mechanism of SME in polymers.

This paper presents a novel redundantly piezo-actuated three-degree-of-freedom XYθ_z compliant mechanism for nano-positioning, driven by four mirror-symmetrically configured piezoelectric actuators (PEAs). By means of differential motion principle, linearized kinematics and physically bi-directional motions in all the three directions are achieved. Meanwhile, the decoupled delivering of three-directional independent motions at the output end is accessible, and the essential parallel and mirror symmetric configuration guarantees large output stiffness, high natural frequencies, high accuracy as well as high structural compactness of the mechanism. Accurate kinematics analysis with consideration of input coupling indicates that the proposed redundantly actuated compliant mechanism can generate three-dimensional (3D) symmetric polyhedral workspace envelope with enlarged reachable workspace, as compared with the most common parallel XYθ_z mechanism driven by three PEAs. Keeping a high consistence with both analytical and numerical models, the experimental results show the working ranges of ±6.21 μm and ±12.41 μm in X- and Y-directions, and that of ±873.2 μrad in θ_z-direction with nano-positioning capability can be realized. The superior performances and easily achievable structure well facilitate practical applications of the proposed XYθ_z compliant mechanism in nano-positioning systems.

In this paper, shape memory alloy (SMA) helical springs are produced by shape setting two sets of NiTi (Ti-55.87 at% Ni) wires, one of which showing shape memory effect and another one showing pseudoelasticity at the ambient temperature. Different pitches as well as annealing temperatures are tried to investigate the effect of such parameters on the thermomechanical characteristics of the fabricated springs. Phase transformation temperatures of the products are measured by differential scanning calorimetry and are compared with those of the original wires. Compression tests are also carried out, and stiffness of each spring is determined. The desired pitches are so that a group of springs experiences phase transition during loading while the other does not. The former shows a varying stiffness upon the application of compression, but the latter acts as passive springs with a predetermined stiffness. Based on the von-Mises effective stress and strain, an enhanced one-dimensional constitutive model is further proposed to describe the shear stress–strain response within the coils of an SMA spring. The theoretically predicted force–displacement responses of the produced springs are shown to be in a reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Finally, effects of variations in geometric parameters on the axial force–displacement response of an SMA spring are investigated.

This paper presents the model and design of a novel hybrid piezoelectric actuator which provides high active and passive performances for smart structural systems. The actuator is composed of a pair of curved pre-stressed piezoelectric actuators, so-called commercially THUNDER actuators, installed opposite each other using two clamping mechanisms constructed of in-plane fixable hinges, grippers and solid links. A fully mathematical model is developed to describe the active and passive dynamics of the actuator and investigate the effects of its geometrical parameters on the dynamic stiffness, free displacement and blocked force properties. Among the literature that deals with piezoelectric actuators in which THUNDER elements are used as a source of electromechanical power, the proposed study is unique in that it presents a mathematical model that has the ability to predict the actuator characteristics and achieve other phenomena, such as resonances, mode shapes, phase shifts, dips, etc. For model validation, the measurements of the free dynamic response per unit voltage and passive acceleration transmissibility of a particular actuator design are used to check the accuracy of the results predicted by the model. The results reveal that there is a good agreement between the model and experiment. Another experiment is performed to teste the linearity of the actuator system by examining the variation of the output dynamic responses with varying forces and voltages at different frequencies. From the results, it can be concluded that the actuator acts approximately as a linear system at frequencies up to 1000 Hz. A parametric study is achieved here by applying the developed model to analyze the influence of the geometrical parameters of the fixable hinges on the active and passive actuator properties. The model predictions in the frequency range of 0–1000 Hz show that the hinge thickness, radius, and opening angle parameters have great effects on the frequency dynamic responses, passive isolation characteristics and the locations of their peaks and dips. Furthermore, the output actuating force can be improved by increasing the hinge hardness, which is controlled by its dimensions, although increasing the hinge hardness may cause a decrease in the free displacement and passive insulation performance, particularly at low frequencies.

This paper presents mitigation behaviour of magnetorheological (MR) damper operated with a mixed working modes. A combination of the shear and squeeze modes is employed in the structure of MR damper to obtain the field-dependent normal yield stress as well as strengthen the squeeze effect. The experimental evaluation shows that when the piston is squeezing the bottom gap from the stroke of 25 to 26 mm, the sudden increase of squeeze force is observed confirming the existence of the mitigation effect. It is also observed that the magnitude of mitigation force is positively correlated with the magnitude of current given to the electromagnet. The measured peak mitigation forces are ranged from 722 N to 1032 N when the electromagnet currents are varied from 0.2 A to 0.8 A, respectively. The variable mitigation effect indicates that the concept can be further discussed as a potential impact protection feature in an MR damper.

Multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) perform worst off than single-layer DEAs due to higher susceptibility to electro-thermal breakdown. This paper presents a hot-spot model to predict the electro-thermal breakdown field of DEAs and its dependence on thermal insulation. To inhibit the electrothermal breakdown, silicone gel coating was applied as barrier coating to multilayer acrylic DEA. The gel coating helps suppress the electro-thermally induced puncturing of DEA membrane at the hot spot. As a result, the gel-coated DEAs, in either a single layer or a multilayer stack, can produce 30% more isometric stress change as compared to those none-coated. These gel-coated acrylic DEAs show great potential to make stronger artificial muscles.

The triboelectric nanogenerator, an energy harvesting device that converts external kinetic energy into electrical energy through using a nano-structured triboelectric material, is well known as an energy harvester with a simple structure and high output voltage. However, triboelectric nanogenerators also inevitably generate heat resulting from the friction that arises from their inherent sliding motions. In this paper, we present a hybrid nanogenerator, which integrates a triboelectric generator and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) for harvesting both the kinetic friction energy and the heat energy that would otherwise be wasted. The triboelectric part consists of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film with nano-structures and a movable aluminum panel. The thermoelectric part is attached to the bottom of the PTFE film by an adhesive phase change material layer. We confirmed that the hybrid nanogenerator can generate an output power that is higher than that generated by a single triboelectric nanogenerator or a TEG. The hybrid nanogenerator was capable of producing a power density of 14.98 mW cm⁻². The output power, produced from a sliding motion of 12 cm s⁻¹, was capable of instantaneously lighting up 100 commercial LED bulbs. The hybrid nanogenerator can charge a 47 μF capacitor at a charging rate of 7.0 mV s⁻¹, which is 13.3% faster than a single triboelectric generator. Furthermore, the efficiency of the device was significantly improved by the addition of a heat source. This hybrid energy harvester does not require any difficult fabrication steps, relative to existing triboelectric nanogenerators. The present study addresses a method for increasing the efficiency while solving other problems associated with triboelectric nanogenerators.

A rolled dielectric elastomer (DE) actuator with two degrees of freedom, which can bend and elongate, was implemented by membrane pre-stretching, interdigital shape electrode patterning, and wrapping on a compression spring. Then modeling of the actuator was conducted by constructing and solving differential equations, which include constitutive, geometrical, equilibrium equations and boundary conditions. Experiments show the actuator can bend up to 75.3^o and elongate with a displacement of 8.4 mm at the voltage of 5.0 kV, which agree well with analytical results. The principal stress and stretch ratio distribution of each layer of elastomer were given, on which the effects of electrostatic pressure and interlayer pressure were also discussed. Two crawling robots with a single and a double-actuator were proposed, and their locomotion performance was investigated. Locomotion experiments show two robots can move forward with both bending and elongation strategies, and the maximum velocity reaches 20 mm s⁻¹. This research is favorable to the application of soft DE in biomimetic robots.

In this study, we have presented the dynamic behavior of a piezoelectric stack actuator made of forty layers of single-crystal (PMN-29PT) with an area of 10 × 10 mm² and thickness of 1 mm. To conduct a dynamic test of the actuator, we built a test apparatus with dummy weights that was placed over the top of the actuator to measure the actuation displacement. The resonant frequencies of the actuator with and without the dummy weight were determined as the excitation frequencies where a significant increase in the actuation displacement could be observed. We also proposed an analytical multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) model of the actuator to analytically predict the resonant frequency. Finite element analyses were conducted to validate the analytically predicted and measured resonant frequencies. With no dummy weight, the resonant frequency of the actuator was measured at 730.00 Hz, which was 0.70% higher than the one calculated by the MDOF model and 0.10% smaller than that of the finite element model. With a dummy weight, the measured resonant frequency was lower than 730.00 Hz and close enough to those computed by the MDOF model and the finite element model. The hysteresis curves of the actuator at various frequencies indicated that the actuator might incur a small energy loss.

Axially compressed bilaterally constrained columns, which can attain multiple snap-through buckling events in their elastic postbuckling response, can be used as energy concentrators and mechanical triggers to transform external quasi-static displacement input to local high-rate motions and excite vibration-based piezoelectric transducers for energy harvesting devices. However, the buckling location with highest kinetic energy release along the element, and where piezoelectric oscillators should be optimally placed, cannot be controlled or isolated due to the changing buckling configurations. This paper proposes the concept of stiffness variations along the column to gain control of the buckling location for optimal placement of piezoelectric transducers. Prototyped non-prismatic columns with piece-wise varying thickness were fabricated through 3D printing for experimental characterization and numerical simulations were conducted using the finite element method. A simple theoretical model was also developed based on the stationary potential energy principle for predicting the critical line contact segment that triggers snap-through events and the buckling morphologies as compression proceeds. Results confirm that non-prismatic column designs allow control of the buckling location in the elastic postbuckling regime. Compared to prismatic columns, non-prismatic designs can attain a concentrated kinetic energy release spot and a higher number of snap-buckling mode transitions under the same global strain. The direct relation between the column's dynamic response and the output voltage from piezoelectric oscillator transducers allows the tailorable postbuckling response of non-prismatic columns to be used as multi-stable energy concentrators with enhanced performance in micro-energy harvesters.

This paper investigates a systematic modeling and control methodology for a multi-axis PZT (piezoelectric transducer) actuated servo stage supporting nano-manipulations. A sliding mode disturbance observer-based adaptive integral backstepping control method with an estimated inverse model compensation scheme is proposed to achieve ultra high precision tracking in the presence of the hysteresis nonlinearities, model uncertainties, and external disturbances. By introducing a time rate of the input signal, an enhanced rate-dependent Prandtl–Ishlinskii model is developed to describe the hysteresis behaviors, and its inverse is also constructed to mitigate their adverse effects. In particular, the corresponding inverse compensation error is analyzed and its boundedness is proven. Subsequently, the sliding mode disturbance observer-based adaptive integral backstepping controller is designed to guarantee the convergence of the tracking error, where the sliding mode disturbance observer can track the total disturbances in a finite time, while the integral action is incorporated into the adaptive backstepping design to improve the steady-state control accuracy. Finally, real time implementations of the proposed algorithm are applied on the PZT actuated servo system, where excellent tracking performance with tracking precision error around 6‰ for circular contour tracking is achieved in the experimental results.

We investigate the effect electrostatically-controlled aperiodicity has on the propagation of flexural waves in two-component elastomeric films. We first determine the static response of the film to a combination of an axial force and voltage over selected segments. Thus, in response to the accumulated charge, the elastomer confined geometrical and physical changes introduce aperiodicity in the film. We then develop the equation governing superposed flexural motions, accounting for the elastomer stiffening and static finite deformation. We adapt a stable matrix method based on this equation to compute the transmission characteristics of the film. Through numerical examples, we show that these characteristics significantly depend on which segments are actuated, i.e., on the resultant aperiodicity. These findings promise a new strategy to control elastic waves.

In this work we proposed a new mechanical method of implementing the synchronized switching technique for piezoelectric energy harvesting based on reed switches. Serving as a mechanical displacement monitor and the switch itself, it holds the merit of non-contact, persistence, and the low voltage threshold of merely a single PN junction. However, as all mechanical switches inherits chattering, or bouncing, energy loss and damping on the inversion was caused. To side pass the chattering, three types of electro-mechanical hybrid switches were furthermore developed to stabilize the interfered current flow: resistor–capacitor snubbers, inductor–capacitor snubbers, and silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs). Each of the method has its merit and suitable working conditions. Comparing to conventional electrical switches, the proposed switches, greatly reduced the switch impedance since the mechanical switch part provides a physically open switch, and the electrical switch part merely consist of either a diode and a MOSFET pair, or a single SCR. Subsequently, the power loss due to the circuit was efficiently eliminated.

A wideband vibrational electromagnetic energy harvester employing nonlinear spring effects is proposed and demonstrated. The harvesters were designed and fabricated by commercial rigid-flex printed circuit boards technology. Rigid FR-4 boards were used for mechanical support and coil winding, whereas flexible polyimide films were patterned for mechanical springs and mass platforms. Two sets of coils were patterned and fabricated in the harvester with an internal coil resistance of about 16 Ω each. Two rare-earth magnets were attached to the central platform as shuttle mass. The total dimension of the harvester was 20 × 20 × 4 mm³. In vibration tests, nonlinearity could be observed even at 0.1 g_rms vibration level due to the spring hardening effect. The frequency for peak induced voltage increased from 187 Hz at low vibration to 382 Hz at 5 g_rms vibration. The effective half-power bandwidth increased from 8 Hz at 0.1 g_rms to 32 Hz at 1 g_rms and 52 Hz at 5 g_rms due to the hysteresis in frequency response. For a matched load and 1 g_rms vibration at 250 Hz, the maximum output power was 160 nW, corresponding to a power density of 100 nW cm⁻³.

Harvesting energy from human motion to power wearable devices using flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters is becoming a hot research topic, since this approach could fix the charging problem related to batteries and would do no harm to the environment. Unlike nano-generators, which have a piezoelectric material thickness at the level of a few nm to a few μm, we present a high-performance macro-flexible piezoelectric energy harvester (MF-PEH) with a piezoelectric material thickness of 45 μm, based on a 0.3PIN-0.4PMN-0.3PT (PIMNT) long flake array with an optimized cut. The piezoelectric properties of (110)-oriented PIMNT were studied as a function of thickness and compared to those of 0.7Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.3PbTiO₃ (PMNT). The electrical properties of this device under different strain and load resistances are studied systematically. The results of our experiment show that under a strain of 0.225%, the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of MF-PEH reach levels as high as 23.2 V and 0.105 mA (at an excitation frequency of 1.1 Hz), respectively, with a maximum electric output power of 245 μW across a piezoelectric materials area of 400 mm². We have also used the device to harvest mechanical energy from the motion of human knees and charge a battery successfully. Efficient conversion from mechanical energy to electric energy and large output power demonstrate that our MF-PEH is an important complement to flexible energy harvesters and a potential candidate as a self-powered source for wearable low-power electronics.

This paper details the creation of a hybrid variable recruitment control scheme for fluidic artificial muscle (FAM) actuators with an emphasis on maximizing system efficiency and switching control performance. Variable recruitment is the process of altering a system's active number of actuators, allowing operation in distinct force regimes. Previously, FAM variable recruitment was only quantified with offline, manual valve switching; this study addresses the creation and characterization of novel, on-line FAM switching control algorithms. The bio-inspired algorithms are implemented in conjunction with a PID and model-based controller, and applied to a simulated plant model. Variable recruitment transition effects and chatter rejection are explored via a sensitivity analysis, allowing a system designer to weigh tradeoffs in actuator modeling, algorithm choice, and necessary hardware. Variable recruitment is further developed through simulation of a robotic arm tracking a variety of spline position inputs, requiring several levels of actuator recruitment. Switching controller performance is quantified and compared with baseline systems lacking variable recruitment. The work extends current variable recruitment knowledge by creating novel online variable recruitment control schemes, and exploring how online actuator recruitment affects system efficiency and control performance. Key topics associated with implementing a variable recruitment scheme, including the effects of modeling inaccuracies, hardware considerations, and switching transition concerns are also addressed.

In this paper the authors investigate the performance of an energy harvesting MR damper (EH-MRD) employed in a semi-active vibration control system (SVCS) and used in a single DOF mechanical structure configuration. Main components of the newly proposed SCVS include the MR damper and an electromagnetic vibration energy harvester based on the Faraday's law (EVEH) that converts vibration energy into electrical energy and delivers electrical power supplying the MR damper. The main objective of the study is to indicate that the SVCS, controlled by the specially designed embedded system, is feasible and presents good performance at the present stage of the research. The work describes investigation the unique features of the EH-MRD, i.e. its self-powering and self-sensing capabilities. Two cases were considered and the testing was done accordingly. In the case 1, only the self-powered capability was investigated. It was found out that harvested energy is sufficient to power the EH-MRD damper and to adjust it to structural vibration. The results confirmed the adequacy of the SVCS and demonstrated a significant reduction of the resonance peak. In the case 2, both the self-powering and self-sensing capabilities were investigated. Due to the self-sensing capability, the SCVS does not require any sensor. It appeared that thus harvested energy is sufficient to power the EH-MRD and enables self-sensing action since the signal of voltage induced by EVEH agrees with the relative velocity signal across the device. Similar to case 1, the resonance peak is significantly reduced.

A study into the shape and active vibration control of antenna reflectors, an important member of the space structures, is carried out in this paper. Geometric nonlinear analysis is considered for performance evaluation of antenna reflectors, as very high precision is an important aspect of space structures. An effort has been made to demonstrate the importance of functionally graded materials in space structures. Piezolaminated structures have been used for shape and vibration control applications for many years. However, due to the problems like debonding and delamination, the reliability of these materials in space structures is still uncertain. To overcome these problems, patches made of functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) are used for shape and vibration control of antenna reflectors in this investigation. FGPM patches are also used to demonstrate the beam-shaping and beam-steering application of antenna reflectors. For the active vibration control application, a fuzzy-logic controller (FLC) is designed and validated with the experimental results. An experimental study has been conducted for comparing the performance of different controllers in the context of vibration reduction. The FLC is then used for active vibration control of an antenna reflector under the application of thermal impact and sinusoidal loading.

Due to the controllability of the stiffness and damping under the applied magnetic field, magnetorheological elastomer isolator has been proved effective in the field of vibration control. For the realization of vibration control application, an accurate MRE isolator model is a non-trivial task. However, the existing parametric modeling methods are required to identify too many parameters, which are difficult to implement. Moreover, the corresponding inverse dynamic model of the isolator cannot even be obtained by the identified model inversion. Therefore, this paper proposes a nonparametric neural network approach to approximate the dynamic behaviors of magnetorheological elastomer isolator with the characteristics of nonlinearity and hysteresis. Firstly, the dynamic characteristics of the isolator in shear-compression mixed mode are experimentally tested under different loading conditions. Secondly, based on the experimental data, a NARX neural network with three-layer structure is developed to approximate the functional relationship between inputs (displacement, velocity and current) and output (force) of magnetorheological elastomer isolator. Thirdly, the effectiveness of the network model is validated by comparing the predicted force and experimental force. Finally, considering the common occurrence of inputs with noise disturbance in real application, the robustness of the network is also verified for displacement and current inputs with noise disturbance, respectively. The results of the network generalization for experimental data show that the proposed NARX network is more robust and optimal than BP network.

In recent years, various types of magnetorheological brakes (MRBs) have been proposed and optimized by different optimization algorithms that are integrated in commercial software such as ANSYS and Comsol Multiphysics. However, many of these optimization algorithms often possess some noteworthy shortcomings such as the trap of solutions at local extremes, or the limited number of design variables or the difficulty of dealing with discrete design variables. Thus, to overcome these limitations and develop an efficient computation tool for optimal design of the MRBs, an optimization procedure that combines differential evolution (DE), a gradient-free global optimization method with finite element analysis (FEA) is proposed in this paper. The proposed approach is then applied to the optimal design of MRBs with different configurations including conventional MRBs and MRBs with coils placed on the side housings. Moreover, to approach a real-life design, some necessary design variables of MRBs are considered as discrete variables in the optimization process. The obtained optimal design results are compared with those of available optimal designs in the literature. The results reveal that the proposed method outperforms some traditional approaches.

Photovoltaic materials can turn light energy into electric energy directly, and thus have the advantages of high electrical output voltages and the ability to realize remote or non-contact control. When high-energy ultraviolet light illuminates polarized PbLaZrTi (PLZT) materials, high photovoltages will be generated along the spontaneous polarization direction due to the photovoltaic effect. In this paper, a novel hybrid photovoltaic/piezoelectric actuation mechanism is proposed. PLZT ceramics are used as a photovoltaic generator to drive a piezoelectric actuator. A mathematical model is established to define the time history of the actuation voltage between two electrodes of the piezoelectric actuator, which is experimentally validated by the test results of a piezoelectric actuator with different geometrical parameters under irradiation at different light intensities. Some important characteristics of this novel actuation mechanism are analyzed and it can be concluded that (1) it is experimentally validated that there is no hysteresis between voltage and deformation which exists in a PLZT actuator; (2) the saturated voltage and response speed can be improved by using a multi-patch PLZT generator to drive the piezoelectric actuator; and (3) the initial voltage of the piezoelectric actuator can be acquired by controlling the logical switch between the PLZT and the piezoelectric actuator while the initial voltages increase with the rise of light intensity.

Fabric-based wearable technology is highly desirable in sports, as it is light, flexible, soft, and comfortable with little interference to normal sport activities. It can provide accurate information on the in situ deformation of muscles in a continuous and wireless manner. During elbow flexion in isometric contraction, upper arm circumference increases with the contraction of elbow flexors, and it is possible to monitor the muscles' contraction by limb circumferential strains. This paper presents a new wireless wearable anthropometric monitoring device made from fabric strain sensors for the human upper arm. The materials, structural design and calibration of the device are presented. Using an isokinetic testing system (Biodex3®) and the fabric monitoring device simultaneously, in situ measurements were carried out on elbow flexors in isometric contraction mode with ten subjects for a set of positions. Correlations between the measured values of limb circumferential strain and normalized torque were examined, and a linear relationship was found during isometric contraction. The average correlation coefficient between them is 0.938 ± 0.050. This wearable anthropometric device thus provides a useful index, the limb circumferential strain, for upper arm muscle contraction in isometric mode.

Pyroelectric materials have recently received attention for harvesting waste heat owing to their potential to convert temperature fluctuations into useful electrical energy. One of the main challenges in designing pyroelectric energy harvesters is to provide a means to induce a temporal heat variation in a pyroelectric material autonomously from a steady heat source. To address this issue, we propose a new form of wind-driven pyroelectric energy harvester, in which a propeller is set in rotational motion by an incoming wind stream. The speed of the propeller's shaft is reduced by a gearbox to drive a slider-crank mechanism, in which a pyroelectric material is placed on the slider. Thermal cycling is obtained as the reciprocating slider moves the pyroelectric material across alternative hot and cold zones created by a stationary heat lamp and ambient temperature, respectively. The open-circuit voltage and closed-circuit current are investigated in the time domain at various wind speeds. The device was experimentally tested under wind speeds ranging from 1.1 to 1.6 m s⁻¹ and charged an external 100 nF capacitor through a signal conditioning circuit to demonstrate its effectiveness for energy harvesting. Unlike conventional wind turbines, the energy harvested by the pyroelectric material is decoupled from the wind flow and no mechanical power is drawn from the transmission; hence the system can operate at low wind speeds (<2 m s⁻¹).

Piezoelectric shunting arrays are proposed to isolate low-frequency vibrations transmitted in sandwich plates. The performance is characterized through application of finite element method. The numerical result shows that a complete band gap, whose width is about 20 Hz, is produced in the desired low-frequency ranges. The band gap is induced by local resonances of the shunting circuits, whose location is strongly related to the inductance, while the resistance can broaden the band gap to some extent. Vibration experiments are conducted on a 1200 × 1000 × 15 mm aluminum honeycomb plate with two arrays of 5 × 5 shunted piezoelectric patches bonded on the surface panels. Significant attenuation is found in the experimental results, which agree well with the theoretical predictions. Consequently, the proposed idea is feasible and effective.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is the process of collecting and analyzing measurements of various structural and environmental parameters on a structure for the purpose of formulating conclusions on the performance and condition of the structure. Accurate long-term temperature data is critical for SHM applications as it is often used to compensate other measurements (e.g., strain), or to understand the thermal behavior of the structure. Despite the need for accurate long-term temperature data, there are currently no validation methods to ensure the accuracy of collected data. This paper researches and presents a novel method for the validation of long-term temperature measurements from any type of sensors. The method relies on modeling the dependence of temperature measurements inside a structure on the ambient temperature measurements collected from a reliable nearby weather tower. The model is then used to predict future measurements and assess whether or not future measurements conform to predictions. The paper presents both the model selection process, as well as the sensor malfunction detection process. To illustrate and validate the method, it is applied to data from a monitoring system installed on a real structure, Streicker Bridge on the Princeton University campus. Application of the method to data collected from about forty sensors over five years showed the potential of the method to categorize normal sensor function, as well as characterize sensor defect and minor drift.

With the goal to assess its effectiveness in structural vibration suppression under strong seismic excitations, this paper experimentally investigates shaking table tests of a new superelastic shape memory alloy friction damper (SSMAFD). The damper consists of pre-tensioned superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) wires and friction devices. The main function of SMA wires is to provide re-centering capacity, while the integrated friction devices provide the most energy dissipation. With the inherent damping property, the superelastic SMA wires also provide energy dissipation. In the shaking table tests, a scaled-down building structure were used as the subject for vibration control and several representative seismic signals as well as white noise motions were used as the inputs. Comparative studies of dynamic behaviors, i.e. story displacements, interstory drifts and story accelerations, of the structural model with and without SSMAFD under seismic loading were performed. The experimental results demonstrated that the SSMAFD was effective in suppressing the dynamic response of the building structure subjected to strong earthquakes by dissipating a large portion of the energy. In addition, with the re-centering capacity of the proposed damper, the structure was able to undergo strong earthquakes without remarkable residual drift under different seismic loads.

In this paper, employing the Hencky strain, viscoelastic–viscoplastic response of self-healing materials is investigated. Considering the irreversible thermodynamics and using the effective configuration in the Continuum Damage-Healing Mechanics (CDHM), a phenomenological finite strain viscoelastic–viscoplastic constitutive model is presented. Considering finite viscoelastic and viscoplastic deformations, total deformation gradient is multiplicatively decomposed into viscoelastic and viscoplastic parts. Due to mathematical advantages and physical meaning of Hencky strain, this measure of strain is employed in the constitutive model development. In this regard, defining the damage and healing variables and employing the strain equivalence hypothesis, the strain tensor is determined in the effective configuration. Satisfying the Clausius–Duhem inequality, the evolution equations are introduced for the viscoelastic and viscoplastic strains. The damage and healing variables also evolve according to two different prescribed functions. To employ the proposed model in different loading conditions, the model is discretized in the semi-implicit form. Material parameters of the model are identified employing experimental tests on asphalt mixes available in the literature. Finally, capability of the model is demonstrated comparing the model predictions in the creep-recovery and repeated creep-recovery with the experimental results available in the literature and a good agreement between predicted and test results is revealed.

Unit-cell based finite element models are developed to completely characterize the role of porosity distribution and porosity volume fraction in determining the elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric properties as well as relevant figures of merit of 3-3 type piezoelectric foam structures. Eight classes of foam structures which represent structures with different types and degrees of uniformity of porosity distribution are identified; a Base structure (Class I), two H-type foam structures (Classes II, and III), a Cross-type foam structure (Class IV) and four Line-type foam structures (Classes V, VI, VII, and VIII). Three geometric factors that influence the electromechanical properties are identified: (i) the number of pores per face, pore size and the distance between the pores; (ii) pore orientation with respect to poling direction; (iii) the overall symmetry of the pore distribution with respect to the center of the face of the unit cell. To assess the suitability of these structures for such applications as hydrophones, bone implants, medical imaging and diagnostic devices, five figures of merit are determined via the developed finite element model; the piezoelectric coupling constant (K_t), the acoustic impedance (Z), the piezoelectric charge coefficient (d_h), the hydrostatic voltage coefficient (g_h), and the hydrostatic figure of merit (d_hg_h). At high material volume fractions, foams with non-uniform Line-type porosity (Classes V and VII) where the pores are preferentially distributed perpendicular to poling direction, are found to exhibit the best combination of desirable piezoelectric figures of merit. For example, at about 50% volume fraction, the d_h, g_h, and d_hg_h figures of merit are 55%, 1600% and 2500% higher, respectively, for Classes V and VII of Line-like foam structures compared with the Base structure.

The electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are gaining much attention in recent years due to their non-contact operation in ultrasonic wave generation and reception in NDT field. Quite often the transduction efficiency of EMATs is low, so efforts are always necessary to gain a better understanding of their complex and multi-physics transduction mechanism. In this work, we focused on modeling of an omni-directional Lorentz force-based EMAT operating on an aluminum disk and containing a rounded meander coil to generate a pure Lamb wave mode. We introduced an approach to solve the underlying eddy current equations in cylindrical coordinates directly, and applied this approach to a multi-conductor electromagnetic model to investigate the skin and proximity effects. These effects existed both for the complete and incomplete equations. Then we built the omni-directional EMAT model composed of three sub-models and two geometries. The two-geometry structure made it possible to reduce the total number of elements. Time varying spatial distribution of the Lorentz force vector was plotted. Propagation velocity of the simulated wave packet was compared with the group velocity of desired S0 mode Lamb waves. Interaction of the waves with a slot defect with a depth of 50% thickness was studied. The response to high current excitation and dynamic magnetic field was also investigated.

This study presents a formulation for a bar with circular cross-section, coated by a piezoelectric layer and subjected to Saint-Venant torsion loading. The bar is weakened by a Volterra-type screw dislocation. First, with aid of the finite Fourier transform, the stress fields in the circular bar and the piezoelectric layer are obtained. The problem is then reduced to a set of singular integral equations with a Cauchy-type singularity. Unknown dislocation density is achieved by numerical solution of these integral equations. Numerical results are discussed, to reveal the effect of the piezoelectric layer on the reduction of the mechanical stress intensity factor in the bar.

This study investigates the transformation behavior of highly Ni-rich 60NiTi alloys after aging at 600 °C for 3 h. After 600 °C-3h aging, R-phase disappeared and alloy transformed in one step. The latent heats of austenite to martensite and martensite to austenite transformations were 13 Jg⁻¹ and 16.4 Jg⁻¹, respectively, for 600 °C-3h aged alloy. The elastic strain energy of 0.75 Jg⁻¹ was obtained in aged alloy. The maximum recoverable transformation strain of 1.7% is obtained under 500 MPa in compression. The superelastic behavior was observed accompanied with a recoverable strain of 1.4%, even high stress level of 1000 MPa is applied.

Actuation deformation of a dielectric gel is attributed to: the solvent diffusion, the electrical polarization and material hyperelasticity. A multi-physical model, coupling electrical and mechanical quantities, is established, based on the thermodynamics. A set of constitutive relations is derived as an equation of state for characterization. The model is applied to specific cases as effective validations. Physical and chemical parameters affect the performance of the gel, showing nonlinear deformation and instability. This model offers guidance for engineering application.

Enzymes have evolved over hundreds of years through changes in ecosystems (climate, atmosphere, hydrology, etc). The evolutionary changes driven by the need to survive has led to enzymes with diverse functionality such as reduction of carbon dioxide and methane to other forms of carbon, fixation of nitrogen, and high temperature biochemical processes. While these enzymes have useful properties, engineering a scalable cell-free system with these enzymes will be useful for stable production of desired products without involving the vagaries of cellular metabolism. This article presents various approaches to incorporate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) in a conducting polymer (polypyrrole (PPy)) doped with a bulky anion (dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS)) in an effort to create functional devices for the conversion of carbon dioxide into precursors for high-value chemicals. We demonstrate that the tailored device creates an environment where the enzyme can retain its function while being protected from denaturing conditions. It is envisioned that the 3-PGA produced by RuBisCO will be converted into value-added products.

By generating ultrasonic waves at two different frequencies onto a cracked structure, modulations due to crack-induced nonlinearity can be observed in the corresponding ultrasonic response. This nonlinear wave modulation phenomenon has been widely studied and proven capable of detecting a fatigue crack at a very early stage. However, under field conditions, other exogenous vibrations exist and the modulation components can be buried under ambient noises, making it difficult to extract the modulation components simply by using a spectral density function. In this study, the nonlinear modulation components in the ultrasonic response were extracted using a spectral correlation function (the double Fourier transform) with respect to time and time lag of a signal's autocorrelation. Using spectral correlation, noise or interference, which is spectrally overlapped with the nonlinear modulation components in the ultrasonic response, can be effectively removed or reduced. Only the nonlinear modulation components are accentuated at specific coordinates of the spectral correlation plot. A damage feature is defined by comparing the spectral correlation value between nonlinear modulation components with other spectral correlation values among randomly selected frequencies. Then, by analyzing the statistical characteristics of the multiple damage feature values obtained from different input frequency combinations, fatigue cracks can be detected without relying on baseline data obtained from the pristine condition of the target structure. In the end, an experimental test was conducted on aluminum plates with a real fatigue crack and the test signals were contaminated by simulated noises with varying signal-to-noise ratios. The results validated the proposed technique.

This paper presents a simple method to evaluate the performance of electrorheological fluid (ERF) with acoustic parameters. The key parameters, such as the storage modulus and the loss modulus are obtained by ultrasonic shear wave reflectometry. By comparing and analyzing the value of the ratio of these two shear wave parameters, it could be easily and quickly to evaluate the performance of ERF. Four kinds of electrode surface morphology are chosen to vary the performance of ERF in this paper. The experimental results show that the optimum ERF system, for example the electrode surface morphology and DC electric field etc, are easily to be found by this method. Furthermore, the influence of leaky current is discussed also.

The impulse stimulated thermal scattering experimental technique is used for contactless in situ detection of phase transitions in thin nickel-titanium films deposited on silicon substrates. It is shown that this technique enables the determination of the local properties of the film over a fully coated wafer, in particular the thickness of the film and the temperature dependence of the Young's modulus, and can thus be used for monitoring of the spatial distribution of the functional properties in films prepared by a combinatorial sputtering approach.

Magnetorheological (MR) devices have been investigated intensively nowadays, of which MR valve is an important and hot application with the challenges of acquiring high pressure drop within compact configurations. Hence, a novel squeeze mode based MR valve (SMRV) is proposed in this paper, with highlights of high pressure drop and low power consumption within a compact and transplantable structure. SMRV's characteristics are studied and its core parts are designed including the initial gaps, magnetic circuit and returning spring. The uniform-saturation magnetic intensity principle is proposed and a co-simulation optimal platform is developed to optimize magnetic intensity of the SMRV dimensions. Then, a prototype is developed and its steady-state performance is evaluated. The test results demonstrate that a pressure drop of 10.8 MPa and a controllable ratio of 5 at 1.0 A applied current are achieved within a transplantable configuration. Meanwhile, SMRV only consumes 1/400 W control power to dissipate 1 W fluid power and its power–volume consumption rate, P_C · V/P_D, is 3.3 × 10² mm³, which has a brilliant application prospect in hydraulic or mechatronic systems.