Smart materials are materials that react to changes in the
environment and consistently repeat recurring behavior. In the auto industry,
there have been some recent breakthroughs in using shape-memory alloys and
polymers which have numerous application opportunities including in the
automotive, medical, aerospace, electronics and appliance industries.
Most “smart materials” used in the automotive industry change their shape or structural properties on external stimuli like heat, magnetic field, electrical voltage or stress. The most preferred smart materials, like shape-alloy metals can “remember” their shapes and structures and revert to their original states once the external stimuli is removed.
Common shape-alloy metals include copper-aluminum-nickel
alloys, nickel-titanium allows and copper-zinc-aluminum alloys.
Smart materials provide a choice to engineers
because they offer new opportunities to reduce product complexity and weight of
a car or automotive. Actuators and sensors made from smart materials also have
the ability to improve vehicle performance and fuel economy, as well as
enhancing convenience features.
(Source: Gizmag.com)
Industrial uses of
smart materials
Smart materials are being used in the automotive industry
already. Engineers at Boeing, General Electric Co. and Goodrich Corp. have
created a variable geometry chevron capable of reducing engine noise in commercial aircrafts.
Automakers are already using sensors and actuators made of
smart materials to replace existing motors and mechanical devices used for
purposes like adjusting mirrors, seats and headrests, or operating door locks
and windows, or to release latches and etcetera.
In an interview in 2010 with Assembly magazine, Alan Taub, vice
president of research, development and strategic planning at General Motors had
claimed, “smart materials will change the look and feel of our cars and trucks
… they can provide significant benefits when they are used to replace
conventional motorized or hydraulic devices by reducing vehicle mass, component
size and complexity, and improving design flexibility, functionality and
reliability.”
GM unveils use of smart materials in Corvette
Within four years from that interview, in 2014, General
Motors has already announced that the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette will feature
General Motors’ first production application of a shape-memory alloy. In the
application – a wire is used to open and close the vent hatch in the car’s
trunk area. The SMA wire replaces a motorized actuator and reduces component
mass by approximately 500 gm. The use of the smart wire also helps the trunk
lid to close more easily than on the earlier Corvette.
The SMA used in the latest Corvette is backed with five years of research through
which GM has already earned 247 patents.
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