DEVELOPMENT OF SMART MATERIAL STRUCTURES WITH PIEZOELECTRIC COMPOSITES

FIBER MATERIALS, INC. (FMI) PROPOSES A PROGRAM TO DEVELOP A NEW CLASS OF SMART MATERIALS WHICH HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF SENSING ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND RESPONDING TO IT IN A DESIRED MANNER. PIEZOELECTRIC SENSORS AND ACTUATORS WILL BE COUPLED ELECTRICALLY TO FORM THE SMART MATERIAL STRUCTURE. A NEW TYPE OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL CONTAINING PIEZOELECTRIC TUBES WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR HIGH ACTUATION WITH LOW VOLTAGES. THE PROGRAM WILL BE CONDUCTED BY FMI IN COLLABORATION WITH PROF. ERIC CROSS AND DR. QIMING ZHANG OF THE MATERIALS RESEARCH LABORATORY AT PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY. THE PHASE I PROGRAM BUILDS ON THE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AND SUCCESS OF FMI AND MRL WITH RELATED MATERIALS. IT WILL RESULT IN A DEMONSTRATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NEW COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND OF THE SENSOR/PZT TUBE COMBINATION. CALCULATIONS OF TRANSFER FUNCTIONS FOR PZT/RESIN COMBINATIONS WILL ALSO BE INITIATED. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - THE PROPOSED SMART MATERIAL STRUCTURE WILL HAVE NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS IN GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY. IT CAN BE USED IN FLOW PATTERN MODIFICATION TO REDUCE FLOW RESISTANCE AND ELIMINATE FLOW NOISE, IN LARGE AREA VIBRATION ISOLATION, IN IMPROVING THE CONTACT BETWEEN IRREGULAR SURFACES AND TO REDUCE THE FRICTION OF MOTION BETWEEN TWO SURFACES. FMI(R) IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FIBER MATERIALS, INC.