14 - Nickel–titanium smart hybrid materials for automotive industry

Abstract

In the current era, smart hybrid materials are extensively used in many industries due to their smart characteristics. When an external stimulus is used smart hybrid materials change their characteristics in a controlled manner. Smart materials can detect pressure, pH change, temperature, and electric and magnetic fields, etc. Nickel–titanium (NiTi) alloys have such characteristics that when they are combined in a certain proportion they act as a smart material. NiTi alloys can be used in various industries, including the biomedical, aerospace, automobile, and electrical and electronics industries. However, they are most widely employed in the automotive sector which is discussed in this chapter. In automotive vehicles, smart materials can be used in various parts such as leaf springs, bumper systems, side mirrors, windshield wipers, door handles and child lock assemblies, engines, actuators, and battery modules. In addition to being a shape-memory alloy, NiTi can also be used in other smart materials which are worth applicable to the automobile industry. Smart materials can also be used as magnetostrictive, piezoelectric, and smart polymeric materials, etc. This chapter discusses the various applications of smart hybrid materials, and more specifically NiTi smart materials in the automotive sector.