Fundamentals of Piezoceramics

Abstract

Smart materials are the materials, which possess the ability to change their physical properties by the application of external stimuli. The stimuli could be electric field, magnetic field, pressure, temperature, stress, etc. They are extensively used in the field of sensors and actuators due to their excellent ability to respond to the external stimuli. Smart materials are divided into two categories: the first one is called active smart materials and another is known as passive smart materials. Active smart materials are those materials which possess the ability to change their material and geometric properties by the application of electric field, magnetic field, or thermal fields. The common examples of active smart materials are piezoelectric materials, shape-memory alloys (SMAs), electro-rheological (ER) fluids, and magnetostrictive materials. The active smart materials are widely used to develop the design of sensors and actuators. Further, the smart materials which are not active and have lack of internal capacity to transduce energy are called passive smart materials. So, such materials could only work as sensors. The fiber optic material is a widespread example of a passive smart material.