Smart Structures (Adaptronics) - State of the Art and Future Outlook

Abstract

In the first half of the eighties the development of new kinds of structural systems, called “smart”, “intelligent”, or “adaptive”, was initiated first in the USA and soon after in Japan. Apart from suitable sensors and controllers, emphasis was placed on actuator systems of thermally, electrically or magnetically activaitable materials (piezoelectrics, electrostrictives, magnetostrictives, electro- and magnetorheological fluids, etc.) capable of being integrated into selected structural components, thus enabling the structure to adapt automatically to changing environmental and operational conditions. Approximately five years later similar efforts were also started in Europe, especially in Germany, leading to the development of “adaptronic” structures. Due to its wide range of potential applications, the concept of adaptronics represents a typical multi-disciplinary key technology. Realizations achieved to date tend to focus on applications which are aimed at vibration / noise reduction, high precision positioning, and shape control (Ref. 1). The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the current state of the art with some examples, to point out existing deficits, and to identify new application areas, in order to prepare the ground for a rapid transfer of adaptronic concepts into industrial practice.