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Smart Materials

Smart materials are construction materials that can respond and change in a controlled way to inputs like stress, temperature, or electric/magnetic fields. Common smart materials include shape memory alloys, magnetostrictive materials, piezoelectric materials, and electrochromic materials. In civil engineering, smart materials are used in applications like smart buildings for vibration control and safety, reducing earthquake effects, and monitoring structures. Prestressed concrete induces internal stresses in concrete to counteract external loads and improve performance by making the material stronger in compression. It prevents cracking and improves strength, shear resistance, and durability but at a higher material cost.

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Murali Karthik V
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108 views2 pages

Smart Materials

Smart materials are construction materials that can respond and change in a controlled way to inputs like stress, temperature, or electric/magnetic fields. Common smart materials include shape memory alloys, magnetostrictive materials, piezoelectric materials, and electrochromic materials. In civil engineering, smart materials are used in applications like smart buildings for vibration control and safety, reducing earthquake effects, and monitoring structures. Prestressed concrete induces internal stresses in concrete to counteract external loads and improve performance by making the material stronger in compression. It prevents cracking and improves strength, shear resistance, and durability but at a higher material cost.

Uploaded by

Murali Karthik V
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SMART MATERIALS AND PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE

SMART MATERIALS:
Smart construction materials, which also known as intelligent materials, active materials
and, adoptive materials, are those that have the capability to respond to changes in their
condition or the environment to which they are exposed, in a useful and controlled
manner. The input that cause the change in smart material properties may be in the form
of mechanical stress / strain, electrical / magnetic field or changes in temperature,
moisture, pH, and light. Their unique properties make them a crucial material in many
fields of engineering and science. They are used in civil engineering projects and
contribute in increasing performance, comfortability, and energy efficiency of structure.
Types of Smart Materials
Based on input and output, the smart materials are categorized as follows.
1. Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs)
Such materials possess the ability to regain to some previously defined shape or size
when subjected to appropriate thermal changes. Shape memory alloys find their
applications in new applications in civil engineering specifically in seismic protection of
buildings. The application of shape memory alloy in civil engineering application, are-
repeated absorption of strain energy without permanent deformation, for obtaining wide
range of cyclic behavior, to resist fatigue resistance under large strain cycles, and due to
their great durability and reliability in the long run.

2. Magneto strictive Materials


These materials undergo mechanical deformation in proportional to the square of the
electric field, which refers to the material quality of changing size in response to either
an electric or magnetic field, and conversely, producing a voltage when stretched. These
materials show promise in applications ranging from pumps and valves, to aerospace
wind tunnel.
3. Piezoelectric Materials
These are the materials possess capability to produce voltage when surface strain is
introduced. Conversely, the materials undergo deformation when an electric field is
applied across it.
4. Electrochromic materials
These materials alter their light transmission properties when voltage is applied.
SMART MATERIALS AND PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE

Application of Smart materials in civil engineering

1. Smart concrete (a composite of carbon fibres and concrete) used in smart structures is
capable of sensing minute structural cracks / flaws
2. Smart materials have applications in the design of smart buildings. Smart materials are
used for vibration control, noise mitigation, safety and performance
3. Smart materials reduce the effects of earthquakes.
4. In marine and rail transport applications for strain monitoring using embedded fibre
optic sensors.
5. They are used to monitor the civil engineering structures to evaluate their durability.


Prestressed Concrete (PSC)

Prestressed concrete is a system into which internal stresses are deliberately induced
without any form of external loads to improve its performance. The internal stresses
induced in the concrete structure is used to counteract the stresses coming from the
external load application

Why Prestressing?

Concrete is weak in tension and strong in compression. This is a weak point of concrete that
results in early flexural cracks mainly in flexural members like beams and slabs. To prevent
this, the concrete is induced with compressive stress deliberately (prestressing) and this
stress counteracts with the tensile stress the structure is subjected to during service
condition. Hence the chances of flexural cracks are reduced.

Methods of Prestressing
The prestressing can be performed by two methods:

1. Pretensioning : In the pretensioning method, the stress is induced by initially
tensioning the steel tendons before the beam is cast
2. Post-Tensioning: Here, the steel is prestressed only after the beam is cast, cured and
attain strength to take the prestress

The major advantages of Prestressed Concrete are:

1. The prestressing of concrete by using high tensile steel improve the efficiency of the
materials
2. The prestressing system works for a span greater than 35m.
3. Prestressing enhance shear strength and fatigue resistance of concrete
4. Dense concrete is provided by prestressing systems thus improving the durability

Disadvantages of Prestressed Concrete


1. Higher material costs
2. Prestressing is an added cost

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