Intelligent Material Systems: Application of Functional Materials

This article presents a review of recent important developments in the field of intelligent material systems. Intelligent material systems, sometimes referred to as smart materials, can adjust their behavior to changes of external or internal parameters analogously to biological systems. In these systems, sensors, actuators and controllers are seamlessly integrated with structural materials at the macroscopic or mesoscopic level. In general, sensors and actuators are made of functional materials and fluids such as piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials, shape memory alloys, polymer hydrogels, electro- and magneto-rheological fluids and so on. This article is specifically focused on the application of piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials and shape memory alloys to intelligent material systems used to control the deformation, vibration and fracture of composite materials and structures. This review article contains 188 references.