SMART MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

The effective utilization of locally available waste material has certainly a great
importance in civil engineering. In the recent years, the various materials such as flyash, silica
sand, ceramic dust, steel scrap from lathe, polyurethane foam etc. were used as a smart material
to decrease the various problems occur during and after the construction.
A smart material is one which possesses unique properties and responds to a change in its
environment. Generally, smart materials exist in two phases at different temperatures such as
1. Austenite phase, which exists at high temperature, and
2. Martensite phase, which exists at low temperature due to change in either temperature or
loading conditions,
Many new raw materials have been discovered and many ground-breaking composites
have been developed, of which not all but some have proved to be a phenomenal success.
Carbon fiber is one of these materials, which is usually used in combination with other
materials to form a composite. The properties of carbon fibers, such as high stiffness, high
tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low
thermal expansion, makes them one of the most popular materials in civil engineering.
Possessing strength up to five times that of steel and being one-third its weight, we might as
well call it ‘the superhero’ of the material world.

Key areas of focus for the development of smart structures to include

1. Application of smart materials in new construction infrastructures

 2. Structural health monitoring, control and lifetime extension (including self-repair) of
structures operating in hostile environments

3. Thermal management of high temperature turbines for power generation.

Material Requirements Using smart materials for achieving a desired goal for a particular
application, the following specific properties are to be fulfilled:

 Mechanical properties - such as strength behavior

 Behavioral characteristics - such as material health behavior

 Technological properties - such as mull-function free and maintenance capabilities

 Economic criteria – such as efficient and cost effective material based on its applications

 Environmental characteristics – such as pollution free and most environment friendly

product for sustainable development of infrastructures

Smart materials have properties that react to changes in their environment. This means that
one of their properties can be changed by an external condition, such as temperature, light,
pressure, electricity, voltage, pH, or chemical compounds. This change is reversible and can be
repeated many times. There are a wide range of different smart materials. Each offer different
properties that can be changed. Some materials are very good indeed and cover a huge range
of the scales.
Carbon Fibers: Composites and properties

Each carbon filament thread is a bundle of many thousand carbon filaments. A single such
filament is a thin tube with a diameter of 5–8 micrometers and consists almost exclusively of
carbon. Made of pure carbon in form of graphite, they have low density and a negative
coefficient of longitudinal thermal expansion. Carbon fibers are produced by the PAN
(polyacrylnitrile) or the pitch method. The PAN method separates a chain of carbon atoms
from PAN through heating and oxidation while the pitch method pulls out graphite threads
through a nozzle from hot fluid pitch. Construction composites that are most commonly
reinforced with carbon fibers are the class of materials known as carbon fiber reinforced
polymers (CFRP), also known as carbon fiber reinforced plastic. To make a carbon fiber sheet,
carbon fiber fabric is saturated or infused with epoxy resins and heated at high temperatures.
Shaped pieces are made by layering several pieces of fabric over a mold, saturating them with
resin and heating it until the resin has infused through all layers. The polymer used in CFRP
is most often epoxy, but other polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester or nylon, are also
sometimes used. Non-polymer materials can also be used as the matrix for carbon fibre.

Properties of CFRP depend on the layouts of the carbon fiber and the proportion of the carbon
fibers relative to the polymer. Their properties differ so much from that of their matrix
material, that a relationship is barely discernible any more. CFRP materials are distinguished
by their extremely high strength and rigidity, exceptional durability, high resistance to
corrosion, low density, excellent damping properties and a high resistance to impacts combined
with exactly modifiable thermal expansion to complement the complex characteristics profile.
To be specific, it has a very high modulus of elasticity exceeding that of steel; high tensile
strength, which may reach 1000 ksi (7 GPa); low density: 114 lb/ft³ (1800 kg/m³) and high
chemical inertness.

The main disadvantage of carbon fibers is their catastrophic mode of failure since the carbon
fibers are brittle in nature. Also their relative cost is a big drawback since carbon fiber is a high
quality material that comes with a price to match.

SMART CONCRETE:
A mere addition of 0.5%specially treated carbon fibers enables the increase of electrical
conductivity of concrete. Putting a load on this concrete reduces the effectiveness of the
contact between each fiber and the surrounding matrix and thus slightly reduces its
conductivity. On removing the load the concrete regains its original conductivity. Because of
this peculiar property the product is called Smart Concrete. The concrete could serve both as
a structural material as well as a sensor. The smart concrete could function as a traffic-sensing
recorder when used as road pavements. It has got higher potential and could be exploited to
make concrete reflective to radio waves and thus suitable for use in electromagnetic shielding.
The smart concrete can be used to lay smart highways to guide self-steering cars which at
present follow tracks of buried magnets. The strain sensitive concrete might even be used to
detect earthquakes.

APPLICATIONS OF SMART CONCRETE:

 Purpose of weighing vehicle on the highway
 Determine where each vehicle was
 What its weight and Speeds were.
 Real time vibrations sensing of bridges or other highway structures.
 Also used in buildings to dampen vibrations to reduce earthquake damage

BENEFITS OF SMART CONCRETE:

  Even by adding carbon fibers, the extra cost of material will increase about 30%; this
expense is still significantly cheaper than attaching or embedding sensors into
the structure.
 Smart concrete is stronger than conventional concrete by the use of carbon fibers.
 It takes greater force for smart concrete to bend, and it absorbs more energy before
fracture.

SMART BRICKS:
The prototype smart bricks has a thermistor, two axis accelerometer, multiplexer, antenna and
a hidden battery. This will provide information that could be vital to firemen doing their
rescuing work in a multi-storey building. The batteries are charged through the bricks by an
inductive coil, similar to those used in electric toothbrushes and certain artificial heart pumps.
The smart bricks are fully wireless. The other applications could include monitoring nurseries,
daycare centers and creating interactive smart toys that respond to human touch.

Phase Change Material (PCM)

A Phase Change Material (PCM) is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, when melting
and solidifying at certain temperatures (termed phase change) is capable of storing or releasing
large amounts of energy

Power Tile smart ceiling and floor panels that capture and release latent heat
 Modulates interior room temperature over the day to improve comfort
 Saves energy in buildings
 Reduces or eliminates HVAC equipment
 Reduces CO2 emissions
 Upto 19 LEED credits
 Achieves Demand Response without disrupting utility customers

AirStream PCM Tiles and Panels

 ADVANTAGES
 Integrated Design saves Installation Cost
 Design allows superior Thermal Energy Capture and Release
 High PCM content ratio for large thermal storage capacity and mechanical strength Low
Production Cost