Smart Materials Notes PDF

Theory on Smart Materials and its Applications
Module 1
Introduction
1.1 Smart Materials
Smart materials have been around for many years and they have found a large
number of applications. The use of the terms 'smart' and 'intelligent' to describe
materials and systems came from the US and started in the 1980‟s despite the
fact that some of these so-called smart materials had been around for decades.
Many of the smart materials were developed by government agencies working
on military and aerospace projects but in recent years their use has transferred
into the civil sector for applications in the construction, transport, medical,
leisure and domestic areas.
The first problem encountered with these unusual materials is defining what
the word “smart‟ actually means. One dictionary definition of smart describes
something which is astute or 'operating as if by human intelligence' and this is
what smart materials are.
A smart material is one which reacts to its environment all by itself. The
change is inherent to the material and not a result of some electronics. The
reaction may exhibit itself as a change in volume, a change in colour or a change
in viscosity and this may occur in response to a change in temperature, stress,
electrical current, or magnetic field. In many cases this reaction is reversible, a
common example being the coating on spectacles which reacts to the level of UV
light, turning your ordinary glasses into sunglasses when you go outside and
back again when you return inside. This coating is made from a smart material
which is described as being photo chromic.
There are many groups of smart materials, each exhibiting particular
properties which can be harnessed in a variety of high-tech and everyday
applications. These include shape memory alloys, piezoelectric materials,
magneto-rheological and electro-rheological materials, magnetostrictive
materials and chromic materials which change their colour in reaction to
various stimuli.
The distinction between a smart material and a smart structure should be
emphasized. A smart structure incorporates some form of actuator and sensor
(which may be made from smart materials) with control hardware and software
to form a system which reacts to its environment. Such a structure might be an
Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

aircraft wing which continuously alters its profile during flight to give the
optimum shape for the operating conditions at the time
Smart systems are defined as ensembles whose dynamic can be monitored
or modified by distributed sensors and actuators, in accordance with an
integrated control law, to accommodate time‐varying exogenous inputs or
changing environmental conditions.
Smart Material Based Systems (SMBS) are defined as electro‐mechanical
systems integrated with sensing, actuating, control and computational functions
provided by such materials. Through system integration and compact design,
systems with less complexity, lower cost and higher reliability can be built.
1.2 Characteristics of composite materials
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened

to composite) is a material made from two or more constituent materials with
significantly different physical or chemical properties that, when combined,
produce a material with characteristics different from the individual
components. The individual components remain separate and distinct within
the finished structure. The new material may be preferred for many reasons:
common examples include materials which are stronger, lighter, or less
expensive when compared to traditional materials. It is characterized by:
1. Specific strength-This is simply the rigidity or hardness of a material with

regard to its weight. For example, number of composites such as fiberglass
share comparable impact resistance (bangability) with steel and titanium at
a fraction of the weight employed.
2. Expense-Many composites can be manufactured with less cost than their
traditional metal counterparts.
3. Application-Because composites are composed of 2 or more "phases", they
can be formulated to meet the needs of a specific application with
considerable ease.
4. Processability-As most of you know, metal processing requires high
amounts of thermal energy (heat). Plastics and plastic based composites
require less heat to mold or process the products. There is a constant desire
to produce composites which can be processed at low temperatures but

when cured or set-up (paint drying or a mold cooling), they are very impact
resistant and very heat resistant or fire retardant.
1.3 Characteristics of ceramic materials
A ceramic is an inorganic non-metallic solid made up of either metal or non-

metal compounds that have been shaped and then hardened by heating to high
temperatures. In general, they are hard, corrosion-resistant and brittle. It is
characterized by
 hardness,
 wear-resistant,
 brittleness,
 refractory,
 thermal insulators,
 electrical insulators,
 nonmagnetic,
 oxidation resistant,
 prone to thermal shock, and
 Chemically stable.
1.4 Shape Memory Alloys
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are one of the most well known types of smart
material and they have found extensive uses in the 70 years since their
discovery.
A shape memory transformation was first observed in 1932 in an alloy of

gold and cadmium, and then later in brass in 1938. The shape memory effect
(SME) was seen in the gold-cadmium alloy in 1951, but this was of little use.
Some ten years later in 1962 an equiatomic alloy of titanium and nickel was
found to exhibit a significant SME and Nitinol (so named because it is made from
nickel and titanium and its properties were discovered at the Naval Ordinance
Laboratories) has become the most common SMA. Other SMAs include those
based on copper (in particular CuZnAl), NiAl and FeMnSi, though it should be
noted that the NiTi alloy has by far the most superior properties.

1.4.1 Working of Shape Memory Alloy
The SME describes the process of a material changing shape or remembering a

particular shape at a specific temperature (i.e. its transformation or memory
temperature). Materials which can only exhibit the shape change or memory
effect once are known as 1-way SMAs.
However some alloys can be trained to show a two-way effect in which they
remember two shapes, one below and one above the memory temperature. At
the memory temperature the alloy undergoes a solid state phase
transformation. That is, the crystal structure of the material changes resulting in
a volume or shape change and this change in structure is called a “thermoelastic
martensitic transformation‟.
This effect occurs as the material has a martensitic microstructure below the
transformation temperature, which is characterised by a zig-zag arrangement of
the atoms, known as twins. The martensitic structure is relatively soft and is
easily deformed by removing the twinned structure. The material has an
austenitic structure above the memory temperature, which is much stronger. To
change from the martensitic or deformed
structure to the austenitic shape the material is simply heated through the
memory temperature. Cooling down again reverts the alloy to the martensitic
state as shown in Figure 1.1.
The shape change may exhibit itself as either an expansion or contraction.
The transformation temperature can be tuned to within a couple of degrees by
changing the alloy composition. Nitinol can be made with a transformation
temperature anywhere between –100ºC and +100ºC which makes it very
versatile.

Fig 1.1. Change in structure associated with the shape memory effect.
1.4.2 Applications of Shape Memory Alloys
Shape memory alloys have found a large number of uses in aerospace,

medicine and the leisure industry. A few of these applications are described
below.
1. Medical applications
Quite fortunately NiTiNOL is biocompatible, that is, it can be used in the

body without an adverse reaction, so it has found a number of medical uses.
These include stents in which rings of SMA wire hold open a polymer tube to
open up a blocked vein (Figure 1.2), blood filters, and bone plates which
contract upon transformation to pull the two ends of the broken bone in to
closer contact and encourage more rapid healing (Figure 1.3). It is possible that
SMAs could also find use in dentistry for orthodontic braces which straighten
teeth. The memory shape of the material is made to be the desired shape of the
teeth. This is then deformed to fit the teeth as they are and the memory is
activated by the temperature of the mouth. The SMA exerts enough force as it
contracts to move the teeth slowly and gradually (Figure 1.4). Surgical tools,
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particularly those used in key hole surgery may also be made from SMAs. These
tools are often bent to fit the geometry of a particular patient, however, in order
for them to be used again they return to a default shape upon sterilisation in an
autoclave.
Fig 1.3. This NiTi bone plated has been heat treated
such that the central part changes from its deformed
shape (top) to its memory shape (bottom) when
warmed with saline solution,
thus drawing the two ends of the fracture closer
together. The modulus of this material has also been
closely matched to that of human bone.
Fig 1.2. Reinforced vascular graft contains rings

of SMA wire which open out the polyester tube
on warming with warm saline solution once
in-situ.
Fig 1.4. SMA wire has been used here to close the gap between two teeth. Two parallelograms of NiTi
wire are attached to the teeth using stainless steel brackets which are glued to the teeth (left). After
six months the gap between the teeth has decreased noticeably (right).

2. Domestic applications
SMAs can be used as actuators which exert a force associated with the shape
change, and this can be repeated over many thousands of cycles. Applications
include springs which are incorporated in to greenhouse windows such that
they open and close themselves at a given temperature. Along a similar theme
are pan lids which incorporate an SMA spring in the steam vent. When the
spring is heated by the boiling water in the pan it changes shape and opens
the vent, thus preventing the pan from boiling over and maintaining efficient
cooking. The springs are similar to those shown in Figure 1.5.
Fig 1.5. Showing the two memory shapes of a memory metal wire coil or 'spring'. In (a) the spring is
at room temperature and in (b) the higher temperature state has been activated by pouring on
boiling water.
3. Aerospace applications
A more high tech application is the use of SMA wire to control the flaps on the
trailing edge of aircraft wings. The flaps are currently controlled by extensive
hydraulic systems but these could be replaced by wires which are resistance
heated, by passing a current along them, to produce the desired shape change.
Such a system would be considerably simpler than the conventional hydraulics,
thus reducing maintenance and it would also decrease the weight of the system.
4. Manufacturing applications
SMA tubes can be used as couplings for connecting two tubes. The coupling
diameter is made slightly smaller than the tubes it is to join. The coupling is
deformed such that it slips over the tube ends and the temperature changed to
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activate the memory. The coupling tube shrinks to hold the two ends together
but can never fully transform so it exerts a constant force on the joined tubes.
1.4.3 General characteristics of SMA
The martensitic transformation that occurs in the shape memory alloys yields a
thermoelastic martensite and develops from a high-temperature austenite
phase with long-range order. The martensite typically occurs as alternately
sheared platelets, which are seen as a herringbone structure when viewed
metallographically. The transformation, although a first-order phase change,
does not occur at a single temperature but over a range of temperatures that
varies with each alloy system. The usual way of characterizing the
transformation and naming each point in the cycle is shown in Fig 1.6. Most of
the transformation occurs over a relatively narrow temperature range, although
the beginning and end of the transformation during heating or cooling actually
extends over a much larger temperature range. The transformation also exhibits
hysteresis in that the transformation on heating and on cooling does not overlap
(Fig 1.6). This transformation hysteresis (shown as T in Fig 1.6) varies with the
alloy system.
Fig 1.6. Typical transformation versus temperature curve for a specimen under constant load
(stress) as it is cooled and heated. T, transformation hysteresis. Ms, martensite start; Mf, martensite
finish; As, austenite start; Af, austenite finish

1.5. Magneto-Rheological Fluid
A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) is a type of smart fluid in a carrier fluid,

usually a type of oil. When subjected to a magnetic field, the fluid greatly
increases its apparent viscosity, to the point of becoming a visco-elastic solid as
shown in Fig 1.7. Importantly, the yield stress of the fluid when in its active
("on") state can be controlled very accurately by varying the magnetic field
intensity. The upshot is that the fluid's ability to transmit force can be controlled
with an electromagnet, which gives rise to its many possible control-based
applications.
MR fluid is different from a ferrofluid which has smaller particles. MR fluid
particles are primarily on the micrometre-scale and are toodense for Brownian
motion to keep them suspended (in the lower density carrier fluid). Ferrofluid
particles are primarily nanoparticles that are suspended by Brownian motion
and generally will not settle under normal conditions. As a result, these two
fluids have very different applications.
Fig 1.7. Schematic of a magnetorheological fluid

solidifying and blocking a pipe in response to an external magnetic field.
Typical MR fluid consists of these three parts:
a) Carbonyl Iron Particles -- 20 to 40 percent of the fluid is made of these soft

iron particles that are just 3 to 5 micrometers in diameter. A package of dry
carbonyl iron particles looks like black flour because the particles are so
fine.
b) A Carrier Liquid -- The iron particles are suspended in a liquid, usually
hydrocarbon oil. Water is often used in demonstrating the fluid.

c) Proprietary Additives -- The third component of MR fluid is a secret, but

Lord says these additives are put in to inhibit gravitational settling of the
iron particles, promote particle suspension, enhance lubricity, modify
viscosity and inhibit wear.
1.5.1 Modes of MR fluids
1. Flow Mode (Fig 1.8)

Flow mode, also called valve mode, exploits the fluid between two fixed
walls, the magnetic field is normal to the flow directions and is typical for
linear damper applications.
2. Shear Mode (Fig 1.9)
Shear mode is mainly used in rotary application such as brakes and clutches
and the fluid is constrained between two walls which are in relative motion
with the magnetic field normal to the wall direction.
3. Squeeze Mode (Fig 1.10)
Squeeze mode is used mainly for bearing applications, is able to provide high
forces and low displacements having the magnetic field normal to walls
directions.
Note: In all the above mentioned cases the working principle is the same: the
applied magnetic field regulates the yield stress of the fluid and changes its
apparent viscosity. So the amount of dissipated energy of the system is simply
controllable by acting on the coil current and the system can provide semi-
active behavior.
Fig 1.8. Flow mode Fig 1.9. Shear Mode Fig 1.10 Squeeze Mode
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1.5.2 Advantages of MR Fluids
1. Easy to control.
2. Have higher magnitude of yield stress.
1.5.3 Disadvantages of MR Fluids
Although smart fluids are rightly seen as having many potential applications,
they are limited in commercial feasibility for the following reasons:
1. High density, due to presence of iron, makes them heavy.
2. High quality fluids are expensive.
3. Fluids are subject to thickening after prolonged use and need replacing.
4. Settling of ferro-particles can be a problem for some applications.
1.5.4 Applications of MR Fluids

The sudden change in the MR behavior (few milliseconds) due to the
magnetic field application, makes this material attractive for damping and
dissipative devices. The MR fluids can be used to build integral, silent, quick
mechanical systems enhanced by means of electronic controls.
There are two main ways to exploit the MR fluids in engineering
applications:
1. Linear MR devices
One of the most interesting engineering applications of MR fluid is the
construction of smart and controllable MR linear dampers. The main asset of
a MR based damper is the controllability of the system, which can be
adjusted in order to provide the desired level of damping by simply changing
the supply current. The main idea is to obtain the desired level of damping
by varying the magnetic induction in an orifice between two separated MR
fluid chambers. The orifice acts like a magnetic valve for the fluid, regulated
by the current and thus exploits the MR fluid in flow mode.
The single ended damper has only one reservoir for the MR fluid
which is transferred through an orifice from on chamber to another. Since
the rod volume is just on one side the system accounts for the change in
volume that results from piston rod movement. In order to accommodate
this change in reservoir volume, an accumulator is usually used. The
accumulator provides a barrier between the MR fluid and a compressed gas
(usually nitrogen) that is used to accommodate the necessary volume
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changes. Moreover the accumulator pressure can be used to enhance the

performance of the MR system, as shown in Fig.1.11.
The double-ended MR damper has piston rods of the same
diameter that protrude through both ends of the damper. In this case there
is no change in volume as the piston rod moves, the double ended damper
does not require an accumulator or other similar device. The applications of
the single ended damper are mainly in the vibration suppression of
mechanical components like seat suspension, car suspensions, and industrial
vibration suppression, while the double ended damper is mainly used for
bicycle applications, gun recoil applications, and for stabilizing buildings and
bridges during earthquakes. The output forces of such a devices can range
from quite low forces (hundreds of NewtonsS) in case of light suspension
system up to 20 tons in case of civil applications, in which they must
compensate the incredibly large forces cause by the shaking of entire
buildings as shown in Fig.1.12.
Fig 1.11 Single ended MR damper Fig 1.12 Double ended MR damper
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2. Rotary MR devices
The aim is to obtain a precise control of the braking torque (in case of
brakes) or transmitted torque (in case of clutches) with no moving parts by
simply varying the current in the coils.
In MR based brake, the magnetic flux path passes through the chassis and
the rotating disk and the fluid is sheared between these elements. The
braking force depends on the yield stress of the fluid making the system
controllable as shown in Fig 1.13.
In MR based clutch, the fluid is between the input disk and the output disk
and the amount of transmitted torque is proportional to the yield stress of
the fluid. No moving part are used to change the transmitted torque and the
torque value can be smoothly controlled through the coil current as shown
in Fig 1.14.
Fig 1.13 MR Brake Fig 1.14 MR Clutch
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1.6. Electro-Rheological Fluids
Electrorheological (ER) fluids are fluids which exhibit fast and reversible
changes in their rheological properties under the influence of external electrical
fields. Electrorheological (ER) fluids are a class of smart materials exhibiting
significant reversible changes in their rheological and hence mechanical properties
under the influence of an applied electric field.
ER fluids commonly are composed of polarisable solid particles dispersed in
non conducting oil. Upon the imposition of external electric field, the particles are
polarized and form a chainlike structure along the direction of the field.
The change in apparent viscosity is dependent on the applied electric field,
i.e. the potential divided by the distance between the plates. The change is not a
simple change in viscosity, hence these fluids are now known as ER fluids, rather
than by the older term Electro Viscous fluids.
When activated an ER fluid behaves as a Bingham plastic (a type of
viscoelastic material), with a yield point which is determined by the electric field
strength. After the yield point is reached, the fluid shears as a fluid, i.e. the
incremental shear stress is proportional to the rate of shear (in a Newtonian fluid
there is no yield point and stress is directly proportional to shear). Hence, the
resistance to motion of the fluid can be controlled by adjusting the applied electric
field as shown in Fig 1.15.
Fig 1.15. Behavior of ER fluid before and after electric field
1.6.1. Classification of ER Fluids
The ER fluid can be classified based on the existing phases as:
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Fig.1.16. Classification of ER Fluids
1.6.2 Modes of ER Fluids
1. Flow Mode (Fig 1.17)

Flow mode, also called valve mode, exploits the fluid between two fixed
walls, the electric field is normal to the flow directions and is typical for
linear damper applications.
2. Shear Mode (Fig 1.18)
Shear mode is mainly used in rotary application such as brakes and clutches
and the fluid is constrained between two walls which are in relative motion
with the electric field normal to the wall direction.
3. Squeeze-Flow Mode (Fig 1.19)
Squeeze-flow mode is used mainly for bearing applications, is able to
provide high forces and low displacements having the electric field normal
to walls directions.
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Fig.1.17.Flow mode Fig.1.18.Shear mode Fig.1.19.Squeeze-Flow mode
1.6.3 Advantages of ER fluids
1. ER device can control considerably more mechanical power than the

electrical power used to control the effect, i.e. it can act as a power amplifier.
2. Speed of response.
3. The increase in apparent viscosity experienced by most Electro-
rheological fluids used in shear or flow modes is relatively limited.
4. ER fluid changes from a Newtonian liquid to a partially crystalline "semi-
hard slush".
5. Liquid to solid phase change can be obtained when the Electro-rheological
fluid additionally experiences compressive stress.
1.6.4 Disadvantages of ER fluids
1. ER fluids as suspensions tend to settle out in time.

2. Breakdown voltage of air is ~ 3 kV/mm, which is near the electric
field needed for ER devices to operate.
1.6.5 Potential Applications of ER Fluids
1. Clutch.
2. Brake and damping systems.
3. Actuators.
4. Fuel injections systems.
5. Joints and hands of robotic arms.
6. Photonic crystals.
7. Micro-switches.
8. Mechanical-electronic interfaces.
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1.7 Electromagnetic Materials
Electromagnetic (EM) industries rely heavily upon high performance

materials that are designed to support direct, condition or absorb EM fields.
In a wide range of applications EM fields also come into contact with other
natural substances, for example: earth, water, and biological tissues. Full
characterization of all of these material interactions is essential for optimal
design of instrumentation. This can only be achieved with a knowledge of
the intrinsic dielectric and magnetic properties of the materials involved:
typically their complex dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability,
but also related parameters such as anisotropy, susceptibility and coercivity.
These materials modify electromagnetic fields that interact with them in
specific and intentional ways. Typically, the purpose of electromagnetic
materials is to redirect, absorb, attenuate, or block electromagnetic
radiation. As coatings and sealants are concerned, two key applications of
electromagnetic materials are the control of radar cross section (RCS) and
the reduction of electromagnetic interference (EMI). In either case there are
two basic material objectives: absorption and conduction.
1. Conductive Materials
Conductive coatings consist of conductive filler—usually a flake or

powder—dispersed in a polymeric binder at high enough loading that
percolation (a network of conductive pathways) occurs. Fillers may be
metallic, ceramic, or polymeric. Binders must provide adequate adhesion,
strength, and flexibility to stand up to stresses that will be placed on the
vehicle surface.
Conductive gap fillers can supplement or substitute for conductive coatings.
These materials, having the consistency of putty or caulk, also comprise a
conductive filler in a polymer binder. They form electrical connections
across gaps, such as between body panels or other joined parts; and they
also smooth the geometry of a conductive skin (ground plane), thereby
reducing diffuse scattering.
Some of the Requirements and applications are:
 Surface electrical continuity
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 Reflective ground plane for resonant absorbers

 Corrosion-resistance
 Low-temperature flexibility
 High temperature strength and adhesion
 Fluid and chemical resistance
 Static charge dissipation
2. Absorptive Materials
Radar absorbing materials (RAM) attenuate the specular reflection of

electromagnetic waves and diminish the strength of surface currents near
edges and electrical discontinuities. They are also of key importance in
countering the amplifying effects of cavity ringing. Tailored impedance
composites are created by dispersing electrically or magnetically lossy fillers
in a polymer-bound matrix. Examples of electrically lossy fillers are carbon
black, graphite, intrinsically conductive polymers (ICPs), and filamentary
metals; magnetic fillers include iron and ferrite powders.
1.8 Magnetic Circuit
Some of the following magnetic circuits are shown in Fig.1.20 below:
Fig.1.20.Magnetic Circuits
All of them have a magnetic material of regular geometric shape called core.
A coil having a number of turns (= N) of conducting material (say copper)
are wound over the core is called the exciting coil. When no current flows
through the coil, we don’t expect any magnetic field or lines of forces to be
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present inside the core. However in presence of current in the coil, magnetic
flux φ will be produced within the core. The strength of the flux depends on
the product of number of turns (N) of the coil and the current (i) it carries.
The quantity Ni called mmf (magnetomotive force) can be thought as the
cause in order to produce an effect in the form of flux φ within the core.
After going through this topic we will be able to do the following.
1. Distinguish between a linear and non linear magnetic circuit.
2. Draw the equivalent electrical circuit for a given magnetic circuit problem.
3. Calculate mean lengths of various flux paths.
4. Calculate the reluctances of the various flux paths for linear magnetic
circuit problem.
5. Understand the importance of B-H characteristics of different materials.
6. How to deal with a non linear magnetic circuit problem using B-H
characteristic of the materials.
A magnetic circuit is made up of one or more closed loop paths containing
a magnetic flux. The flux is usually generated by permanent
magnets or electromagnets and confined to the path by magnetic
cores consisting of ferromagnetic materials like iron, although there may be
air gaps or other materials in the path. Magnetic circuits are employed to
efficiently channel magnetic fields in many devices such as electric
motors, generators, transformers, relays,lifting electromagnets, SQUIDs, galv
anometers, and magnetic recording heads.
The concept of a "magnetic circuit" exploits a one-to-one correspondence
between the equations of the magnetic field in an unsaturated ferromagnetic
material to that of an electrical circuit. Using this concept the magnetic fields
of complex devices such as transformers can be quickly solved using the
methods and techniques developed for electrical circuits.
Examples:
 Horseshoe magnet with iron keeper (low-reluctance circuit)
 Horseshoe magnet with no keeper (high-reluctance circuit)
 Electric motor (variable-reluctance circuit)
1.8.1 Laws for calculating magnetic field

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1. Biot-Savart law
We know that any current carrying conductor produces a magnetic field. A

magnetic field ℜ is characterized either by H→, the magnetic field intensity or
by B→, the magnetic flux density vector.
These two vectors are connected by a rather simple relation: B→=μo μr H→
where μ0= 4 π ×10-7H/m is called the absolute permeability of free space and
μr , a dimensionless quantity called the relative permeability of a medium (or
a material). For example the value of μr is 1 for free space or could be several
thousands in case of ferromagnetic materials.
Biot-Savart law is of fundamental in nature and tells us how to calculate dB
or dH→ at a given point with position vector r , due to an elemental current
idl→ and is given by:
(1)
If the shape and dimensions of the conductor carrying current is known then
field at given point can be calculated by integrating the RHS of the above
equation.
(2)
Where, length indicates that the integration is to be carried out over the
length of the conductor. However, it is often not easy to evaluate the integral
for calculating field at any point due to any arbitrary shaped conductor. One
gets a nice closed form solution for few cases such as:
1. Straight conductor carries current and to calculate field at a distance d

from the conductor.
2. Circular coil carries current and to calculate field at a point situated on the
axis of the coil.
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2. Ampere’s circuital law

This law states that line integral of the vector H along any arbitrary closed
path is equal to the current enclosed by the path. Mathematically:
(3)
For certain problems particularly in magnetic circuit problems Ampere’s
circuital law is used to calculate field instead of the more fundamental Biot
Savart law for reasons going to be explained below. Consider an infinite
straight conductor carrying current i and we want to calculate field at a
point situated at a distance d from the conductor. Now take the closed path
to be a circle of radius d. At any point on the circle the magnitude of field
strength will be constant and direction of the field will be tangential. Thus
LHS of the above equation simply becomes H × 2πd. So field strength is
(4)
1.8.2 Application of Ampere’s circuital law
Ampere’s circuital law is quite handy in determining field strength within a

core of a magnetic material. Due to application of mmf, the tiny dipole
magnets of the core are aligned one after the other in a somewhat
disciplined manner. The contour of the lines of force resembles the shape
the material. The situation is somewhat similar to flow of water through an
arbitrary shaped pipe. Flow path is constrained to be the shape of the bent
pipe.
From the Fig.1.21 shown below for a toroidal magnetic circuit, When the
coil carries a current i, magnetic lines of forces will be created and they will
be confined within the core as the permeability of the core is many (order of
thousands) times more than air.
Take the chosen path to be a circle of radius r. let the value of H will remain
same at any point on this path and directions will be always tangential to the
path. Hence by applying Ampere’s circuital law to the path we get the value
of H to be NI/2πr. If r is increased from a to be b the value of H decreases
with r. a and b are respectively the inner and outer radius of the toroidal
core.
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Fig.1.21. toroidal magnetic circuit
1.8.3 Assumption of Parameters
1. Leakage Flux & Fringing Effect

All the flux produced by the mmf will not be confined to the core. There will
be some flux lines which will complete their paths largely through the air as
depicted in Fig.1.22.
Since the reluctance or air is much higher compared to the reluctance
offered by the core, the leakage flux produced is rather small. Here, we shall
neglect leakage flux and assume all the flux produced will be confined to the
core only. In the magnetic circuit of Fig.1.22, an air gap is present. For an
exciting current, the flux lines produced are shown. These flux lines cross
the air gap from the top surface of the core to the bottom surface of the core.
So the upper surface behaves like a north pole and the bottom surface like a
south pole. Thus all the flux lines will not be vertical and confined to the core
face area alone. Some lines of force in fact will reach the bottom surface via
bulged out curved paths outside the face area of the core.
These flux which follow these curved paths are called fringing flux and the
phenomenon is called fringing effect. Obviously the effect of fringing will be
smaller if the air gap is quite small. Effect of fringing will be appreciable if
the air gap length is more. In short the effect of fringing is to make flux
density in the air gap a bit less than in the core as in the air same amount of
flux is spread over an area which is greater than the core sectional area.
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Effect of fringing sometimes taken into account by considering the effective

area in air to be about 10 to 12% higher than the core area.
Fig.1.22. Typical Magnetic Circuit
2. In the practical magnetic circuit (as in Fig.1.23), the thickness (over

which the lines of forces are spread = b-a) are much smaller compared to
the overall dimensions (a or b) of the core.
Under this condition we shall not make great mistake if we calculate H at rm=
(b-a) / 2 and take this to be H everywhere within the core. The length of the
flux path corresponding to the mean radius i.e., lm=2πrm is called the mean
length.
This assumption allows us to calculate the total flux φ produced within the
core rather easily as enumerated below:
 Calculate the mean length lm of the flux path from the given geometry of
the magnetic circuit.
 Apply Ampere’s circuital law to calculate H = NI / lm
Note, this H may be assumed to be same everywhere in the core.
 Calculate the magnitude of the flux density B from the relation B = μoμrH.
 Total flux within the core is φ = BA, where A is the cross sectional area of
the core.
23

Module 2
Sensing and Actuation
Sensors and actuators are two critical components of every closed loop
control system. Such a system is also called a mechatronics system. A typical
mechatronics system as shown in Fig. 2.1 consists of a sensing unit, a
controller, and an actuating unit. A sensing unit can be as simple as a single
sensor or can consist of additional components such as filters, amplifiers,
modulators, and other signal conditioners. The controller accepts the
information from the sensing unit, makes decisions based on the control
algorithm, and outputs commands to the actuating unit. The actuating unit
consists of an actuator and optionally a power supply and a coupling
mechanism.
.
Fig 2.1.A Typical Mechatronics System
2.1 Sensors
Sensor is a device that when exposed to a physical phenomenon (temperature,

displacement, force, etc.) produces a proportional output signal (electrical,
mechanical, magnetic, etc.). The term transducer is often used synonymously
with sensors. However, ideally, a sensor is a device that responds to a change in
24

the physical phenomenon. On the other hand, a transducer is a device that

converts one form of energy into another form of energy. Sensors are
transducers when they sense one form of energy input and output in a different
form of energy. For example, a thermocouple responds to a temperature change
(thermal energy) and outputs a proportional change in electromotive force
(electrical energy). Therefore, a thermocouple can be called a sensor and or
transducer.
2.2 Classification of Sensors and their Principles
1. Linear and Rotational Sensors
Linear and rotational position sensors are two of the most fundamental of all
measurements used in a typical mechatronics system. In general, the position
sensors produce an electrical output that is proportional to the displacement
they experience. There are contact type sensors such as strain gage, LVDT,
RVDT, tachometer, etc. The noncontact type includes encoders, hall effect,
capacitance, inductance, and interferometer type. They can also be classified
based on the range of measurement. Usually the high-resolution type of sensors
such as Hall Effect, fiber optic inductance, capacitance, and strain gage are
suitable for only very small range (typically from 0.1 mm to 5 mm). The
differential transformers on the other hand, have a much larger range with good
resolution. Interferometer type sensors provide both very high resolution (in
terms of microns) and large range of measurements (typically up to a meter).
However, interferometer type sensors are bulky, expensive, and requires large
set up time.
Among many linear displacement sensors, strain gage provides high
resolution at low noise level and is least expensive. A typical resistance strain
gage consists of resistive foil arranged as shown in the Fig. 2.2. A typical setup to
measure the normal strain of a member loaded in tension is shown in Fig. 2.3.
Strain gage 1 is bonded to the loading member whereas strain gage 2 is bonded
to a second member made of same material, but not loaded. This arrangement
compensates for any temperature effect. When the member is loaded, the gage 1
elongates thereby changing the resistance of the gage. The change in resistance
is transformed into a change in voltage by the voltage sensitive wheatstone
bridge circuit. Assuming that the resistance of all four arms are equal initially,
the change in output voltage (Dvo) due to change in resistance (DR1) of gage 1 is
25

Dvo/vi = (DR1/R)/ (4+2(DR1/R))
Fig 2.2. Bonded Strain Gauge Fig 2.3. Experimental setup to measure using strain gauges.
2. Acceleration Sensors
Measurement of acceleration is important for systems subject to shock and
vibration. Although acceleration can be derived from the time history data
obtainable from linear or rotary sensors, the accelerometers whose output is
directly proportional to the acceleration is preferred. Two common types
include the seismic mass type and the piezoelectric accelerometer. The seismic
mass type accelerometer is based on the relative motion between a mass and
the supporting structure. The natural frequency of the seismic mass limits its
use to low to medium frequency applications. The piezoelectric accelerometer,
however, is compact and more suitable for high frequency applications.
3. Force, Torque, and Pressure Sensors

Among many type of force/torque sensors, the strain gage dynamometers and
piezoelectric type are most common. Both are available to measure force and/or
torque either in one axis or multiple axes. The dynamometers make use of
mechanical members that experiences elastic deflection when loaded. These
types of sensors are limited by their natural frequency. On the other hand, the
piezoelectric sensors are particularly suitable for dynamic loadings in a wide
range of frequencies. They provide high stiffness, high resolution over a wide
measurement range, and are compact.
4. Flow Sensors
Flow sensing is relatively a difficult task. The fluid medium can be liquid, gas, or
a mixture of the two. Furthermore, the flow could be laminar or turbulent and
can be a time-varying phenomenon. The venture meter and orifice plate restrict
26

the flow and use the pressure difference to determine the flow rate. The pitot
tube pressure probe is another popular method of measuring flow rate. When
positioned against the flow, they measure the total and static pressures. The
flow velocity and in turn the flow rate can then be determined. The rotameter
and the turbine meters when placed in the flow path, rotate at a speed
proportional to the flow rate. The electromagnetic flow meters use noncontact
method. Magnetic field is applied in the transverse direction of the flow and the
fluid acts as the conductor to induce voltage proportional to the flow rate.
Ultrasonic flow meters measure fluid velocity by passing high-frequency sound
waves through fluid. A schematic diagram of the ultrasonic flow meter is as
shown in Fig. 2.4. The transmitters (T) provide the sound signal source. As the
wave travels towards the receivers (R), its velocity is influenced by the velocity
of the fluid flow due to the doppler effect. The control circuit compares the time
to interpret the flow rate. This can be used for very high flow rates and can also
be used for both upstream and downstream flow. The other advantage is that it
can be used for corrosive fluids, fluids with abrasive particles, as it is like a
noncontact sensor.
Fig 2.4. Ultrasonic Flow Sensor Arrangement
5. Temperature Sensors
A variety of devices are available to measure temperature, the most common of

which are thermocouples, thermisters, resistance temperature detectors (RTD),
and infrared types.
Thermocouples are the most versatile, inexpensive, and have a wide range (up to
1200 ∞ C typical). A thermocouple simply consists of two dissimilar metal wires
joined at the ends to create the sensing junction. When used in conjunction with
27

a reference junction, the temperature difference between the reference junction

and the actual temperature shows up as a voltage potential.
Thermisters are semiconductor devices whose resistance changes as the
temperature changes. They are good for very high sensitivity measurements in a
limited range of up to 100 ∞ C. The relationship between the temperature and
the resistance is nonlinear. The RTDs use the phenomenon that the resistance of
a metal changes with temperature. They are, however, linear over a wide range
and most stable.
Infrared type sensors use the radiation heat to sense the temperature from a
distance. These noncontact sensors can also be used to sense a field of vision to
generate a thermal map of a surface.
6. Proximity Sensors
They are used to sense the proximity of an object relative to another object.
They usually provide a on or off signal indicating the presence or absence of an
object. Inductance, capacitance, photoelectric, and hall effect types are widely
used as proximity sensors. Inductance proximity sensors consist of a coil wound
around a soft iron core. The inductance of the sensor changes when a ferrous
object is in its proximity. This change is converted to a voltage-triggered switch.
Capacitance types are similar to inductance except the proximity of an object
changes the gap and affects the capacitance. Photoelectric sensors are normally
aligned with an infrared light source. The proximity of a moving object
interrupts the light beam causing the voltage level to change. Hall effect voltage
is produced when a current-carrying conductor is exposed to a transverse
magnetic field. The voltage is proportional to transverse distance between the
hall effect sensor and an object in its proximity.
7. Light Sensors
Light intensity and full field vision are two important measurements used in
many control applications. Phototransistors, photoresistors , and photodiodes are
some of the more common type of light intensity sensors. A common
photoresistor is made of cadmium sulphide whose resistance is maximum when
the sensor is in dark. When the photoresistor is exposed to light, its resistance
drops in proportion to the intensity of light. When interfaced with a circuit as
shown in Fig. 2.5 and balanced, the change in light intensity will show up as
28

change in voltage. These sensors are simple, reliable, and cheap, used widely for
measuring light intensity.
Fig.2.5. Light sensing with photoresistors.
8. Smart Material Sensors
There are many new smart materials that are gaining more applications as
sensors, especially in distributed sensing circumstances. Of these, optic fibers,
piezoelectric, and magnetostrictive materials have found applications. Within
these, optic fibers are most used.
Optic fibers can be used to sense strain, liquid level, force, and temperature with
very high resolution. Since they are economical for use as in situ distributed
sensors on large areas, they have found numerous applications in smart
structure applications such as damage sensors, vibration sensors, and cure-
monitoring sensors. These sensors use the inherent material (glass and silica)
property of optical fiber to sense the environment. Figure 2.6 illustrates the
basic principle of operation of an embedded optic fiber used to sense
displacement, force, or temperature. The relative change in the transmitted
intensity or spectrum is proportional to the change in the sensed parameter.
Fig.2.6. Optic fiber sensing
29

2.3 Selection of sensors based on static and dynamic factors
 Range —Difference between the maximum and minimum value of the

sensed parameter.
 Resolution —The smallest change the sensor can differentiate.
 Accuracy —Difference between the measured value and the true value.
 Precision —Ability to reproduce repeatedly with a given accuracy.
 Sensitivity —Ratio of change in output to a unit change of the input.
 Zero offset —A nonzero value output for no input.
 Linearity —Percentage of deviation from the best-fit linear calibration curve.
 Zero Drift—The departure of output from zero value over a period of time
for no input.
 Response time —The time lag between the input and output.
 Bandwidth —Frequency at which the output magnitude drops by 3 dB.
 Resonance —The frequency at which the output magnitude peak occurs.
 Operating temperature —The range in which the sensor performs as
specified.
 Deadband—The range of input for which there is no output.
 Signal-to-noise ratio—Ratio between the magnitudes of the signal and the
noise at the output.
2.4 Actuators
Actuators are basically the muscle behind a mechatronics system that accepts a
control command (mostly in the form of an electrical signal) and produces a
change in the physical system by generating force, motion, heat, flow, etc.
Normally, the actuators are used in conjunction with the power supply and a
coupling mechanism as shown in Fig. 2.7.
The power unit provides either AC or DC power at the rated voltage and current.
The coupling mechanism acts as the interface between the actuator and the
physical system.
Typical mechanisms include rack and pinion, gear drive, belt drive, lead screw
and nut, piston, and linkages.
30

Fig.2.7. A typical actuating unit
2.5 Classification of Actuators based on type of energy and stable state

out-put
1. Electrical Actuators
Electrical switches are the choice of actuators for most of the on-off type control
action. Switching devices such as diodes, transistors, triacs, MOSFET , and relays
accept a low energy level command signal from the controller and switch on or
off electrical devices such as motors, valves, and heating elements. For example,
a MOSFET switch is shown in Fig. 2.8. The gate terminal receives the low energy
control signal from the controller that makes or breaks the connection between
the power supply and the actuator load. When switches are used, the designer
must make sure that switch bounce problem is eliminated either by hardware or
software.
Fig.2.8. n-channel power MOSFET
31

2. Electromechanical Actuators
The most common electromechanical actuator is a motor that converts

electrical energy to mechanical motion. Motors are the principal means of
converting electrical energy into mechanical energy in industry. Broadly they
can be classified as DC motors, AC motors, and stepper motors. DC motors
operate on DC voltage and varying the voltage can easily control their speed.
They are widely used in applications ranging from thousands of horsepower
motors used in rolling mills to fractional horsepower motors used in
automobiles (starter motors, fan motors, windshield wiper motors, etc.).
Although they are costlier, they need DC power supply and require more
maintenance compared to AC motors.
The governing equation of motion of a DC motor can be written as:
T=J (dѡ/dt) + TL + Tloss
Where T is torque, J is the total inertia, ѡ is the angular mechanical speed of the
rotor, TL is the torque applied to the motor shaft, and Tloss is the internal
mechanical losses such as friction.
3. Electromagnetic Actuators
The solenoid is the most common electromagnetic actuator. A DC solenoid
actuator consists of a soft iron core enclosed within a current carrying coil.
When the coil is energized, a magnetic field is established that provides the
force to push or pull the iron core. AC solenoid devices are also encountered,
such as AC excitation relay.
A solenoid operated directional control valve is shown in Fig. 2.9. Normally, due
to the spring force, the soft iron core is pushed to the extreme left position as
shown. When the solenoid is excited, the soft iron core will move to the right
extreme position thus providing the electromagnetic actuation. Another
important type is the electromagnet. The electromagnets are used extensively in
applications that require large forces.
32

Fig.2.9. Solenoid operated directional control valve.
4. Hydraulic and Pneumatic Actuators
Hydraulic and pneumatic actuators are normally either rotary motors or linear
piston/cylinder or control valves. They are ideally suited for generating very
large forces coupled with large motion. Pneumatic actuators use air under
pressure that is most suitable for low to medium force, short stroke, and high
speed applications. Hydraulic actuators use pressurized oil that is
incompressible. They can produce very large forces coupled with large motion
in a cost-effective manner. The disadvantage with the hydraulic actuators is that
they are more complex and need more maintenance. The rotary motors are
usually used in applications where low speed and high torque are required. The
cylinder/piston actuators are suited for application of linear motion such as
aircraft flap control. Control valves in the form of directional control valves are
used in conjunction with rotary motors and cylinders to control the fluid flow
direction as shown in Fig.2.9. In this solenoid operated directional control valve,
the valve position dictates the direction motion of the cylinder/piston
arrangement.
5. Smart Material Actuators

Unlike the conventional actuators, the smart material actuators typically
become part of the load bearing structures. This is achieved by embedding the
actuators in a distributed manner and integrating into the load bearing
structure that could be used to suppress vibration, cancel the noise, and change
shape. Of the many smart material actuators, shape memory alloys, piezoelectric
(PZT), magneto-strictive, Electro-rheological fluids, and ion exchange polymers
are most common.
33

Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) are alloys of nickel and titanium that undergo
phase transformation when subjected to a thermal field. The SMAs are also
known as NITINOL for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Laboratory. When
cooled below a critical temperature, their crystal structure enters martensitic
phase as shown in Fig. 2.10.
In this state the alloy is plastic and can easily be manipulated. When the alloy is
heated above the critical temperature (in the range of 50–80oC), the phase
changes to austenitic phase. Here the alloy resumes the shape that it formally
had at the higher temperature.
For example, a straight wire at room temperature can be made to regain its
programmed semicircle shape when heated that has found applications in
orthodontics and other tensioning devices. The wires are typically heated by
passing a current (up to several amperes), 0 at very low voltage (2–10 V
typical).
Fig.2.10. Phase change of Shape Memory Alloy

6. Piezoelectric Actuators
The PZT actuators are essentially piezocrystals with top and bottom conducting
films as shown in Fig. 2.11. When an electric voltage is applied across the two
conducting films, the crystal expands in the transverse direction as shown by
the dotted lines. When the voltage polarity is reversed, the crystal contracts
thereby providing bidirectional actuation.
The interaction between the mechanical and electrical behavior of the
piezoelectric materials can be expressed as:
T = cES – eE
34

Where T is the stress, cE is the elastic coefficients at constant electric field, S is

the strain, e is the dielectric permittivity, and E is the electric field.
Fig.2.11. Piezoelectric actuator
One application of these actuators is as shown in Fig. 2.12. The two piezoelectric
patches are excited with opposite polarity to create transverse vibration in the
cantilever beam. These actuators provide high bandwidth (0–10 kHz typical)
with small displacement. Since there are no moving parts to the actuator, it is
compact and ideally suited for micro and nano actuation. Unlike the
bidirectional actuation of piezoelectric actuators, the electrostriction effect is a
second-order effect, i.e., it responds to an electric field with unidirectional
expansion regardless of polarity.
Fig.2.12. Vibration of beam using piezoelectric actuators.
7. Magnetostrictive rod actuators
Magnetostrictive material is an alloy of terbium, dysprosium, and iron that

generates mechanical strains up to 2000 microstrain in response to applied
35

magnetic fields. They are available in the form of rods, plates, washers, and
powder. Figure 2.13 shows a typical magnetostrictive rod actuator that is
surrounded by a magnetic coil. When the coil is excited, the rod elongates in
proportion to the intensity of the magnetic field established.
The magnetomechanical relationship is given as:
SH + d H

where, ε is the strain, SH the compliance at constant magnetic filed, ς the stress,
d the magnetostriction constant, and H the magnetic field intensity.
Fig 2.13. Magnetostrictive rod actuator
8. Micro and Nano Actuators
Micro-actuators, also called micro-machines, micro-electromechanical system

(MEMS), and Microsystems are the tiny mobile devices being developed
utilizing the standard microelectronics processes with the integration of
semiconductors and machined micromechanical elements. Another definition
states that any device produced by assembling extremely small functional parts
of around 1–15 mm is called a micro-machine.
Example: Electrostatic Motor
2.6 Selection of Actuators based on their dynamic behavior

 Continuous power output—The maximum force/torque attainable
continuously without exceeding the temperature limits.
 Range of motion—The range of linear/rotary motion.
 Resolution—The minimum increment of force/torque attainable.
 Accuracy—Linearity of the relationship between the input and output.
 Peak force/torque—The force/torque at which the actuator stalls.
36

 Heat dissipation—Maximum wattage of heat dissipation in continuous

operation.
 Speed characteristics—Force/torque versus speed relationship.
 No load speed—Typical operating speed/velocity with no external load.
 Frequency response—The range of frequency over which the output follows
the input faithfully, applicable to linear actuators.
 Power requirement—Type of power (AC or DC), number of phases, voltage
level, and current capacity.
2.7 Magnet
It can be defined as a substance that can attract a metal or iron. This ability is
known as magnetism. Magnet has 2 poles which is north and south.
2.7.1 Principle of Magnet
Magnet has a magnetic field around the magnet itself. Magnetic field is the force
around the magnet which can attract any magnetic material around it. The line
form around the magnet bar is magnetic field which is known as flux magnet as
shown in Fig.2.14.
Fig.2.14. Magnetic Principle
2.7.2 Law of Magnet
The flux line of magnetic have a direction and pole. The direction of movement
outside of the magnetic field line is from north to south. The magnetic poles
(north & south) have the strongest magnetic field. It is basic law, in which
different poles will attract each other while the same magnetic poles will reject
each other. It can also be named as magnetic attraction and repulsion law.
The flux will form a complete loop and will never intersect with each other and
will be in smallest form possible as shown in Fig. 2.15.
37

Fig.2.15. Magnetic flux lines
2.7.3 Types of Magnet
1. Pure Magnet
Pure magnet is a magic stone. The stone originally have the natural
magnetic and normally in a form of iron ore.
2. Manufacture Magnet
Two type of manufacture magnet which is permanent magnet and
temporary magnet.
a. The Permanent magnet is manufacture so it can kept its
magnetism. It can be obtained naturally or magnetic induction
and placing a magnet into a coil then supplied with high electrical
current. Normally it is used in speakers and metering devices.
b. The Temporary magnet is created by mean of using electric

current. It is known as electromagnet. It will have it magnetic
properties when there is electric current and will lost the
magnetic properties when the current is cut off. Example of such
application is relays.
2.8 Electromagnet
38

Electromagnet produced when there is electric current flowing through a

coil of wire (in circular path) and through a conductor. The direction of
magnetic field produced by the current in the solenoid can be determined
using two methods:
(i) Right hand grip
Right hand grip is a principle applied to electric current passing to a solenoid

coil resulting in a magnetic field. By gripping the right hand around the
solenoid, thumb is pointing in the direction of the magnetic north pole and
remaining fingers is pointing of direction of current flow as shown in
Fig.2.16.
Fig.2.16. Right hand thumb rule
(ii) Maxwell’s screw law
A right handed screw is turn clock wise so that it moves forward in the same
direction as the current. The direction of screw rotation (clockwise)
indicates the direction of magnetic field from south to north.
2.8.1 Factors affecting Electromagnetic strength
There are 4 factors that affect electromagnetic strength:

(i) Number of turns
The strength of the electromagnet is directly proportional to the number of
turn in the coil. By varying the number of turns in its coil can produce very
strong magnetic fields and its strength.
(ii) Current strength
39

The strength of the electromagnet is directly proportional to the current

flowing in the coil. Greater the current flow through the coil, stronger will be
the magnetic fields produced.
(iii) Length of coil

The strength of the electromagnet is directly proportional to the length of
the coil. By coil up the wire can increasing the length and increase the force
of magnetic field.
(iv) Types of conductor

Depend on the nature of the core material. The use of soft of core can
produces the strongest magnetism.
2.9 Signal Processing
Signal processing is an enabling technology that encompasses the

fundamental theory, applications, algorithms, and implementations of
processing or transferring information contained in many different
physical, symbolic, or abstract formats broadly designated as signals.
It uses mathematical, statistical, computational, heuristic, and linguistic
representations, formalisms, and techniques for representation, modelling,
analysis, synthesis, discovery, recovery, sensing, acquisition, extraction,
learning, security, or forensics.
2.9.1 Types of Signal Processing
1. Analog signal processing
Analog signal processing is for signals that have not been digitized, as in
legacy radio, telephone, radar, and television systems. This involves linear
electronic circuits as well as non-linear ones. The former are, for
instance, passive filters, active filters, additive mixers, integrators and delay
lines. Non-linear circuits include compandors, multiplicators (frequency
mixers and voltage-controlled amplifiers), voltage-controlled filters, voltage-
controlled oscillators and phase-locked loops.
2. Continous Time Signal Processing

40

Continuous-time signal processing is for signals that vary with the change of
continuous domain (without considering some individual interrupted
points).
The methods of signal processing include time domain, frequency domain,
and complex frequency domain. This technology mainly discusses the
modeling of linear time-invariant continuous system, integral of the system's
zero-state response, setting up system function and the continuous time
filtering of deterministic signals
3. Discrete time signal processing
Discrete-time signal processing is for sampled signals, defined only at
discrete points in time, and as such are quantized in time, but not in
magnitude.
Analog discrete-time signal processing is a technology based on electronic
devices such as sample and hold circuits, analog time-
division multiplexers, analog delay lines and analog feedback shift registers.
This technology was a predecessor of digital signal processing (see below),
and is still used in advanced processing of gigahertz signals.
The concept of discrete-time signal processing also refers to a theoretical
discipline that establishes a mathematical basis for digital signal processing,
without taking quantization error into consideration.
4. Digital Signal processing

Digital signal processing is the processing of digitized discrete-time sampled
signals. Processing is done by general-purpose computers or by digital
circuits such as ASICs, field-programmable gate arrays or specialized digital
signal processors (DSP chips). Typical arithmetical operations include fixed-
point and floating-point, real-valued and complex-valued, multiplication and
addition. Other typical operations supported by the hardware are circular
buffers and look-up tables. Examples of algorithms are the Fast Fourier
transform (FFT), finite impulse response (FIR) filter, Infinite impulse
response (IIR) filter, and adaptive filters such as the Wiener and Kalman
filters.
5. Nonlinear Signal processing
41

Nonlinear signal processing involves the analysis and processing of signals

produced from nonlinear systems and can be in the time, frequency, or
spatio-temporal domains.[5]Nonlinear systems can produce highly complex
behaviors including bifurcations, chaos, harmonics, and subharmonics which
cannot be produced or analyzed using linear methods.
2.9.2 Applications of Signal Processing
 Audio signal processing – for electrical signals representing sound, such

as speech or music.
 Speech signal processing – for processing and interpreting spoken
words
 Image processing – in digital cameras, computers and various imaging
systems
 Video processing – for interpreting moving pictures
 Wireless communication - waveform generations, demodulation,
filtering, equalization
 Control systems
 Array processing – for processing signals from arrays of sensors
 Seismology
 Financial signal processing – analyzing financial data using signal
processing techniques, especially for prediction purposes.
 Feature extraction, such as image understanding and speech
recognition.
 Quality improvement, such as noise reduction, image enhancement,
and echo cancellation.
 (Source coding), including audio compression, image compression,
and video compression.
2.9.3 Types of signal processing devices
 Filters : for example analog (passive or active) or digital (FIR, IIR,

frequency domain or stochastic filters, etc.)
 Samplers and Analog-to-digital converters: for Signal acquisition and
reconstruction, which involves measuring a physical signal, storing or
42

transferring it as digital signal, and possibly later rebuilding the original

signal or an approximation thereof.
 Signal compressors
 Digital signal processors (DSPs)
2.9.4 Principle of signal processing
Fig.2.17. Signal Processing Principle
Signal transmission using electronic signal processing consist of

Transducers which convert signals from other physical waveforms to
electric current or voltage waveforms, which then are processed,
transmitted as electromagnetic waves, received and converted by another
transducer to final form as shown in Fig.2.17.
43

Module 3
Structures, Optics and Electromagnetic
3.1 Introduction to Fiber Optics
We're used to the idea of information traveling in different ways. When we

speak into a landline telephone, a wire cable carries the sounds from our
voice into a socket in the wall, where another cable takes it to the local
telephone exchange. Cell phones work a different way: they send and receive
information using invisible radio waves—a technology called wireless
because it uses no cables. Fiber optics works a third way. It sends
information coded in a beam of light down a glass or plastic pipe. It was
originally developed for endoscopes in the 1950s to help doctors see inside
the human body without having to cut it open first. In the 1960s, engineers
found a way of using the same technology to transmit telephone calls at the
speed of light (186,000 miles or 300,000 km per second).
A fiber-optic cable as shown in Fig.3.1 is made up of incredibly thin strands

of glass or plastic known as optical fibers; one cable can have as few as two
strands or as many as several hundred. Each strand is less than a tenth as
thick as a human hair and can carry something like 25,000 telephone calls,
so an entire fiber-optic cable can easily carry several million calls.
Fiber-optic cables carry information between two places using entirely

optical (light-based) technology. Suppose you wanted to send information
from your computer to a friend's house down the street using fiber optics.
You could hook your computer up to a laser, which would convert electrical
information from the computer into a series of light pulses. Then you'd fire
the laser down the fiber-optic cable. After traveling down the cable, the light
beams would emerge at the other end. Your friend would need
a photoelectric cell (light-detecting component) to turn the pulses of light
back into electrical information his or her computer could understand. So
the whole apparatus would be like a really neat, hi-tech version of the kind
of telephone you can make out of two baked-bean cans and a length of
string!
44

Fig.3.1.Fiber Optics Cable
3.2 Working Principle of Fiber Optics
Light travels down a fiber-optic cable by bouncing repeatedly off the walls.
Each tiny photon (particle of light) bounces down the pipe like a bobsleigh
going down an ice run. Now you might expect a beam of light, traveling in a
clear glass pipe, simply to leak out of the edges. But if light hits glass at a
really shallow angle (less than 42 degrees), it reflects back in again—as
though the glass were really a mirror. This phenomenon is called total
internal reflection. It's one of the things that keeps light inside the pipe as
shown in Fig 3.2.
Fig.3.2. Total internal reflection
45

The other thing that keeps light in the pipe is the structure of the cable,
which is made up of two separate parts. The main part of the cable—in the
middle—is called the core and that's the bit the light travels through.
Wrapped around the outside of the core is another layer of glass called
the cladding. The cladding's job is to keep the light signals inside the core. It
can do this because it is made of a different type of glass to the core as
shown in Fig.3.3.
Fig.3.3.Structure of the Cable
3.2.1 Construction
An optical fiber consists of three basic concentric elements: the core, the
cladding and the outer coating (Fig.3.3). The core is usually made of glass
or plastic, although other materials are sometimes used, depending on
the transmission spectrum desired.
The core is the light-transmitting portion of the fiber. The cladding

usually is made of the same material as the core, but with a slightly lower
index of refraction (usually about 1 percent lower). This index difference
causes total internal reflection to occur at the index boundary along the
46

length of the fiber so that the light is transmitted down the fiber and does
not escape through the sidewalls. The coating usually comprises one or
more coats of a plastic material to protect the fiber from the physical
environment. Sometimes metallic sheaths are added to the coating for
further physical protection.
Optical fibers usually are specified by their size, given as the outer
diameter of the core, cladding and coating. For example, a 62.5/125/250
would refer to a fiber with a 62.5-µm diameter core, a 125-µm diameter
cladding and a 0.25-mm outer coating diameter.
3.2.2 Principle of working
Optical materials are characterized by their index of refraction, referred

to as n. A material’s index of refraction is the ratio of the speed of light in
a vacuum to the speed of light in the material. When a beam of light
passes from one material to another with a different index of refraction,
the beam is bent (or refracted) at the interface (Fig.3.4).
Fig.3.4. A beam of light passing from one material to another of a different index of refraction
is bent or refracted at the interface.
47

Refraction is described by Snell’s law:
nI Sin I = nR SinR
where nI and nR are the indices of refraction of the materials through

which the beam is refracted and I and R are the angles of incidence and
refraction of the beam.
Note: If the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle for the interface
(typically about 82° for optical fibers), the light is reflected back into the
incident medium without loss by a process known as total internal reflection
(Fig.3.5).
Fig.3.5. Total internal reflection allows light to remain inside the core of the fiber
Numerical Aperture
Numerical aperture (NA), shown in Fig.3.6, is the measure of maximum
angle at which light rays will enter and be conducted down the fiber. This
is represented by the following equation:
48

Fig.3.6. Numerical aperture depends on the angle at which rays enter the fiber and on the
diameter of the fiber’s core.
3.3 Types of Fiber Optic Cables
Optical fibers carry light signals down them in what are called modes. That
sounds technical but it just means different ways of traveling: a mode is
simply the path that a light beam follows down the fiber. One mode is to go
straight down the middle of the fiber. Another is to bounce down the fiber at
a shallow angle. Other modes involve bouncing down the fiber at other
angles, more or less steep.
1. Single Mode
The simplest type of optical fiber is called single-mode. It has a very thin
core about 5-10 microns (millionths of a meter) in diameter. In a single-
mode fiber, all signals travel straight down the middle without bouncing off
the edges (Dark line in Fig. 3.4). Cable TV, Internet, and telephone signals are
generally carried by single-mode fibers, wrapped together into a huge
bundle. Cables like this can send information over 100 km (60 miles).
Fig.3.4.Working of Single Mode
2. Multi-Mode
Each optical fiber in a multi-mode cable is about 10 times bigger than one in
a single-mode cable. This means light beams can travel through the core by
49

following a variety of different paths (purple, green, and blue lines)—in

other words, in multiple different modes as shown in Fig.3.5. Multi-mode
cables can send information only over relatively short distances and are
used (among other things) to link computer networks together.
Fig.3.5.Working of Multi-Mode
Example:
Even thicker fibers are used in a medical tool called a gastroscope (a type of endoscope),
which doctors poke down someone's throat for detecting illnesses inside their stomach. A
gastroscope is a thick fiber-optic cable consisting of many optical fibers. At the top end of a
gastroscope, there is an eyepiece and a lamp. The lamp shines its light down one part of the
cable into the patient's stomach. When the light reaches the stomach, it reflects off the
stomach walls into a lens at the bottom of the cable. Then it travels back up another part of
the cable into the doctor's eyepiece. Other types of endoscopes work the same way and can
be used to inspect different parts of the body. There is also an industrial version of the tool,
called a fiberscope, which can be used to examine things like inaccessible pieces of
machinery in airplane engines.
3.4 Applications of Fiber Optics
The technologies which use it effectively are computer networking,

broadcasting, medical scanning, and military equipment.
1. Computer Networks
Fiber-optic cables are now the main way of carrying information over long
distances because they have three very big advantages over old-style copper
cables:
 Less attenuation: (signal loss) Information travels roughly 10 times
further before it needs amplifying—which makes fiber networks
simpler and cheaper to operate and maintain.
 No interference: Unlike with copper cables, there's no "crosstalk"
(electromagnetic interference) between optical fibers, so they
transmit information more reliably with better signal quality
50

 Higher bandwidth: As we've already seen, fiber-optic cables can

carry far more data than copper cables of the same diameter.
2. Medicine
Medical gadgets that could help doctors peer inside our bodies without
cutting them open were the first proper application of fiber optics over a half
century ago. Today, gastroscopes (as these things are called) are just as
important as ever, but fiber optics continues to spawn important new forms
of medical scanning and diagnosis.
One of the latest developments is called a lab on a fiber, and involves

inserting hair-thin fiber-optic cables, with built-in sensors, into a patient's
body. These sorts of fibers are similar in scale to the ones in communication
cables and thinner than the relatively chunky light guides used in
gastroscopes. How do they work? Light zaps through them from a lamp or
laser, through the part of the body the doctor wants to study. As the light
whistles through the fiber, the patient's body alters its properties in a
particular way (altering the light's intensity or wavelength very slightly,
perhaps). By measuring the way the light changes (using techniques such
as interferometry), an instrument attached to the other end of the fiber can
measure some critical aspect of how the patient's body is working, such as
their temperature, blood pressure, cell pH, or the presence of medicines in
their bloodstream. In other words, rather than simply using light to see
inside the patient's body, this type of fiber-optic cable uses light to sense or
measure it instead.
3. Military
Fiber-optic cables are inexpensive, thin, lightweight, high-capacity, robust

against attack, and extremely secure, so they offer perfect ways to connect
military bases and other installations, such as missile launch sites
and radar tracking stations. Since they don't carry electrical signals, they
don't give off electromagnetic radiation that an enemy can detect, and
they're robust against electromagnetic interference (including systematic
enemy "jamming" attacks). Another benefit is the relatively light weight of
fiber cables compared to traditional wires made of cumbersome and
51

expensive copper metal. Tanks, military airplanes, and helicopters have all
been slowly switching from metal cables to fiber-optic ones. Partly it's a
matter of cutting costs and saving weight (fiber-optic cables weigh nearly 90
percent less than comparable "twisted-pair" copper cables). But it also
improves reliability; for example, unlike traditional cables on an airplane,
which have to be carefully shielded (insulated) to protect them against
lightning strikes, optical fibers are completely immune to that kind of
problem as shown in Fig.3.6.
Fig.3.6. Enhanced Fiber-Optic Guided Missile (EFOG-M)
4. Broadcasting
Back in the early 20th century, radio and TV broadcasting was born from a
relatively simple idea. Cable TV companies pioneered the transition from the
1950s onward, originally using co-axial cables (copper cables with a sheath
of metal screening wrapped around them to prevents crosstalk
interference), which carried just a handful of analog TV signals. As more and
more people connected to cable and the networks started to offer greater
choice of channels and programs, cable operators found they needed to
switch from coaxial cables to optical fibers and from analog to
digital broadcasting. Apart from offering much higher capacity, optical fibers
suffer less from interference, so offer better signal (picture and sound)
quality; they need less amplification to boost signals so they travel over long
distances; and they're altogether more cost effective. In the future, fiber
broadband may well be how most of us watch television, perhaps through
52

systems such as IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), which uses the

Internet's standard way of carrying data ("packet switching") to serve TV
programs and movies on demand. While the copper telephone line is still the
primary information route into many people's homes, in the future, our main
connection to the world will be a high-bandwidth fiber-optic cable carrying
any and every kind of information.
3.5 Principle of Turbulent Drag Reduction of smart/active skin
Turbulence control methods have been developed under the assumption that
the turbulence production cycle could be favorably altered, stabilized, or
reduced in intensity by the manipulation and alteration of low-speed streaks,
quasi-streamwise vortices, the viscous sub layer, or the hairpin-like structures
that populate the near-wall region.
In this work two possible actuation principles for the active skin that can
achieve a surface traveling wave are discussed. The first actuation principle is
depicted as a free body diagram in Fig.3.7. Consider a long plate subjected to
equally spaced external moments that are equal in value but alternate in sign.
This loading pattern can generate a static wave profile, from which a traveling
wave can be realized by shifting the points of application of the moments. The
moment can be realized either by the application of equal and opposite forces
(couple) at those points or by unbalanced lateral forces separated by a lever
arm.
Fig.3.7.Moment based Actuation Principle

The second actuation principle utilizes equally spaced vertical external forces
along the length of the skin. The amplitudes and the directions of these forces
vary periodically in order to match the skin deflection required as shown in
Fig.3.8.
53

Fig.3.8.Force based Actuation Principle

Second actuation principle can also be viewed as a more general form of the
first actuation principle with the values of the actuating moments varying in a
periodic manner instead of being constant. A traveling wave profile can be
generated by simultaneously varying all the forces in a periodic manner. All the
forces would oscillate with the same frequency and the same amplitude.
However each successive force would lag the previous force by a constant
phase difference. Since the deflections would be in phase with the forces, the
net effect would be a traveling wave.
3.5.1 Theoretical Analysis of Active/Smart skin
To simplify the analysis, it is possible to utilize the inherent periodicity in

loading and boundary conditions of the active skin, to reduce the analysis
domain to a “Unit Cell”. The Unit Cell can be defined as the smallest repeating
unit of the active skin, the behavior of which would completely describe the
behavior of the entire skin. The analytical expressions for the deflection
amplitude and the natural frequency of the Unit Cell can be obtained by solving
the general expressions that describe cylindrical bending in plates. Utilizing the
periodicity assumption the Unit Cells for the two actuating principles shown in
Fig.3.7 and Fig.3.8 can be obtained as the section of skin that is one wavelength
long. Utilizing the symmetry in the bending, the Unit Cell can be further
reduced to a section of the skin that is half a wavelength long (Fig.3.9).
54

Fig.3.9.Unit Cells for Two Actuation Principles
The appropriate boundary conditions for the Unit Cell would therefore be
 Symmetry conditions at the ends
 Zero deflection for the point in the middle of the Unit Cell
Note: Ma and Mb are the boundary conditions for the Unit Cell that need to be solved for and are
not the externally applied moments. In the free body diagram of the Unit Cell for the force
based actuation technique, the forces at the ends are half the values of the actual forces at these
points since the effect of these forces are equally shared by two adjoining Unit Cells.
3.5.2 Design of Active Skin based on Actuation Strategies
Three different active skin designs that would be capable of creating a traveling
wave form profile using either of the actuation principles have been
considered.
1. SMA Actuator based Active Skin
Fig.3.10 presents a cross section and a top view of the first skin design in its
non-actuated state. This design works on the principle of moment based
actuation. The moments that bend the skin are created by lateral forces that
act on the skin through “legs” that are attached to the top surface of the skin.
The legs can slide (left and right) with respect to the bottom surface (which
is the surface attached to the vehicle) while the upper surface is exposed to
the flow. The “legs” are actuated in a manner that induces rotation of the
legs, which in turn results in a deformation of the top surface. When the legs
are actuated in a coordinated manner it results in a wavy deformation
pattern on the upper surface. This coordinated leg actuation/rotation can be
achieved as described below.
55

A Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire runs through the “legs”, through small
holes on their sidewalls. The direction of the SMA wire is in the spanwise
direction, while the major dimension of the “legs” is along the streamwise
direction. Within each “leg” a circular flat disk is attached to the SMA wire,
with its diameter significantly larger than the diameter of the holes on the
sidewalls of the “legs”. Each SMA-disk joint is electrically connected to the
electrical control circuit, and is powered independently. When a voltage
difference is applied between the leftmost (“joint 1”) and the rightmost SMA-
disk (“joint 5”) joints in Fig.3.10, the negative strain induced in the SMA (on
account of the wire contracting) will cause the disks of joints 1 and 5 to
contact the walls of legs 1 and 5 thus transferring to them the load generated
by the SMA.
Fig.3.10. Cross section and top view of SMA actuated active skin
As shown in Fig.3.11 in an exaggerated fashion, as the SMA sections between

legs 1 and 5 and between legs 9 and 13 contract, the SMA section between
legs 5 and 9 will have to elongate/strain accordingly. Therefore the SMA
sections between 1 and 5 and 9 and 13 will have to produce enough force
not only to deform the upper skin but also to strain the SMA section between
legs 5 and 9. This requirement is typical in antagonistic SMA actuators and
presents no problem, since the sections between 1 and 5 and 9 and 13 are
austenitic and have a much larger stiffness (2 to 3 times higher) than the
section between 5 and 9, which is in the martensitic phase. One other point
that deserves mention is that the bending caused by the actuation would not
be exactly uniform all along the streamwise direction on account of the fact
56

that the loading takes place at discrete points. But it is assumed that the
deviation would be negligible if the SMA actuators were placed in relatively
small intervals in the streamwise direction.
Fig.3.11. Resulting waveform after actuating SMA sections between legs 1 and 5 and
between legs 9 and 13
2. Peizoelectric C-block based active skin

The individual C-block actuator, which is configured in a semi-circular
shape, can be aligned in series or in parallel to optimize the force and
deflection output to those required by the application at hand, while
simultaneously fitting within the space constraints. Fig.3.12 illustrates the
principles of piezoelectric actuation of the active skin in the second design.
When electrical voltage is properly applied to a semi-circular, C-block
piezoelectric actuator, positioned between two consecutive “legs” it causes
the ends of the semi-circle to deflect radially inward, towards each other.
This action causes displacement of the disks in the “legs” and subsequent
“leg” deflection. The key to piezoelectric actuation will be to actuate locally
in a time sequence that produces the desired traveling wave, without
antagonizing with the neighboring structural elements and piezoelectric
actuators. Direct attachment of piezoelectric patches on the skin, in the
traditional way, will be avoided since it will result in interference from
neighboring piezoelectric elements, thus increasing the actuation energy
cost.
Fig.3.12. Piezoelectrically actuated active skin.
3. Piezoceramic Stack actuator based Active Skin
A third skin design is shown in Fig.3.13. This design works on the force
based actuation principle. In this design the “legs” are replaced by linear
57

Piezoceramic Stack Actuators (PSAs), which actuate the skin in a direction

along their axis. On actuation, the PSAs would exert a force on the skin in the
vertical direction causing the skin to bend. By varying the values of the
forces (in the PSAs) along the length of the skin in a periodic fashion it is
possible to achieve a static bending in the form of sinusoidal wave. By
varying the force applied by each PSA with time in a periodic fashion it
would be possible to obtain a traveling wave. In effect the loading of the
PSAs would be in phase with the displacement of the skin itself.
Fig.3.13. Skin design with linear piezoceramic stack actuators oriented perpendicular to the
skin.
3.6 Adaptive Optics
As light from distant celestial objects enters our atmosphere it gets

disturbed by our ever-moving atmosphere. Adaptive optics (AO) corrects for
the distortions in an image caused by this atmospheric turbulence. The
distortion to incoming light is shown schematically in Fig.3.14.
Fig.3.14. uniform waves of starlight reach Earth they distort due to the temperature
variations in atmospheric cells.
As uniform waves of starlight reach Earth they distort due to the
temperature variations in atmospheric cells. As light travels slightly faster in
less dense warm air, the resultant refraction is non-uniform. This accounts
58

for the 'twinkling' of stars when seen from Earth's surface. The Fig.3.15
below shows how what should effectively be a point source from a distant
star is smeared out due to turbulence. Adaptive optics compensates for this,
resulting in a much sharper stellar image as seen on the right.
Fig.3.15. point source from a distant star is smeared out due to turbulence
Adaptive optics systems operate at high frequencies, typically about 1000
Hz. This is too fast for altering a primary mirror so adaptive optic systems
are designed to act via the secondary mirror and additional optical elements
placed in the light path. The need for high speed computer calculations and
special deformable mirrors means that AO is a relatively new field of
development in astronomy. Rapid progress in developing the technology for
telescope use occurred following the end of the Cold War when much of the
military technology for AO systems was declassified.
A schematic of how adaptive optics systems, like Altair on Gemini North,
works to correct distorted starlight is shown in Fig.3.16 & 3.17.
59

Fig.3.16.Altair correcting distorted starlight Fig3.17 Simple Adaptive Optic

system
The illustration (1) is an example of a blurry image taken without the help of
adaptive optics. When starlight is collected and focused by the telescope, just
prior to coming to a focus, the light entering an adaptive optics system is
first collimated (2) and is reflected off a deformable mirror (3). After
reflecting off the deformable mirror, the light passes through a beam-splitter
(4) where the shorter wavelength light (optical) enters the wavefront sensor
(5) which takes a "snapshot" of the distortions on the wavefront and sends
the information via a computer (6) to the deformable mirror to keep the
wave-fronts corrected and flat. Finally, the light is focused (7) and imaged on
a detector (8) for astronomers to study.
There are several different methods that can be used to monitor and correct
the incoming wavefront of light but many use a tip-tilt mirror and a thin,
deformable one. The Fig.3.18 below is used on Gemini North and has 85
actuators on it to control the mirror shape.
Fig.3.18.actuators controlling the mirror shape
Vital to all is the need for powerful, fast computer processing and modelling
of the incoming waveforms. Systems either rely on a bright reference star
within the field of view (which is surprisingly hard to find given the narrow
field of view in many large telescopes) or they produce an artificial reference
star using a laser.
60

Australia is an active participant in the development of adaptive optic

systems through the Research Network for Adaptive Optics. Apart from
astronomy, adaptive optics also has applications in the fields of
ophthalmology and vision science, optical communications, laser beam
shaping and laser countermeasures.
At present, adaptive optics is still a new technology and many systems are in
the developmental phase. Apart from the reference star problem, most
systems also trade-off sensitivity for resolution as each additional optical
element scatters some light and adds emits a small amount of heat,
degrading infrared performance.
Whilst adaptive optics compensates for atmospheric distortions, the
deformation of the large primary mirrors is corrected by active optics as
shown in Fig.3.19.
Fig.3.19.Basic Adaptive Optics Principle
3.6.1 Applications of Adaptive Optics
1. Used for laser wavefront control for intensity profile shaping.

2. For Atmospheric aberration compensation.
61

3. for medical applications.

4. Imaging for astronomy, target inspection, ophthalmology.
3.7 Active Optics
Active optics is a technology used with reflecting telescopes developed in
the 1980s, which actively shapes a telescope's mirrors to prevent
deformation due to external influences such as wind, temperature,
mechanical stress. Without active optics, the construction of 8 metre class
telescopes is not possible, nor would telescopes with segmented mirrors be
feasible.
This method is used by, among others, the Nordic Optical Telescope, the New
Technology Telescope, the Telescopio Nazionale Galileoand the Keck
telescopes, as well as all of the largest telescopes built in the last decade.
Active optics is not to be confused with adaptive optics, which operates at a
shorter timescale and corrects atmospheric distortions.
3.7.1 Active Optics Components
Active Optical Components are used to manipulate light through a variety of

electrical methods, including adaptive reflection, variable diffusion, or
tunable focusing. Active Optical Components are ideal for a wide variety life
sciences, industrial, or research applications including for testing,
illumination systems, wavefront manipulation, or microscopy. Active optics
can also be used to replace complex optical systems with more compact,
efficient alternatives, which can help reduce system size or remove the need
for multiple systems or additional components.
Edmund Optics offers a wide variety of Active Optical Components, including

liquid lenses, variable diffusers, or laser speckle reducers, in addition to
adaptive optics such as deformable mirrors. Focus-tunable lenses are liquid
lenses that utilize a control current to adjust focus, removing the need for
multi-lens focus or zoom systems. Adaptive optics, including deformable
mirrors, are used to manipulate the wavefront in order to improve the
quality of an optical system.
62

Module 4
Acoustics and Controls
4.1 Structural Acoustics
Most sounds that you hear throughout the day are radiated by
vibrating structures. Walls and windows radiate sound into your house and
office building. Windows radiate sound into your automobile, or into other
vehicles, like buses, trains, and airplanes. The cones on the speakers of your
stereo are vibrating structures that radiate sound into the air around you.
However, these structures are usually not the original sources of the sounds
you hear.
For example, the walls and windows in your house are driven by
acoustic pressure waves caused by passing vehicles, noisy neighbors (often
with loud lawn and garden equipment such as leaf blowers), or by the wind
through the trees. The pressures impinge on your windows, which in turn
vibrate and pass some of the incident sound through to the interior.
In airplanes and high-speed trains, tiny pressure waves within
turbulence outside the vehicles drive the walls, which then vibrate and
radiate sound. There are, of course, many other sources of vibration and the
subsequent sound that we hear. Although often the sounds radiated by
vibrating structures are annoying (your neighbor’s leaf blower), sometimes
they are pleasing, like the sounds radiated by musical instruments. Pianos,
violins, guitars, brass instruments, and the air within and around them are
complex structural-acoustic systems.
The sound from musical instruments (including the human voice) is
often reproduced by audio equipment, such as CD players, amplifiers, and
speakers. Speakers, with their multiple pulsating pistons mounted on the
surfaces of boxes filled with air, are also very complex structural-acoustic
systems, and engineers working for speaker companies spend entire careers
trying to design systems that reproduce input signals exactly.
4.2 Compression and shear waves in isotropic, homogeneous structures
63

Structural materials, like metals, plastics, and rubbers, deform in ways far
more complicated than air or water. This is because of one simple fact:
structural materials can resist shear deformation, and fluids cannot. This
means that both dilatational (and compressive) and shear waves can co-
exist in structures. Most structures have one or two dimensions that are very
small with respect to internal wavelengths. We call these structures plates
and beams, and they vibrate flexuraly as flexural waves are dispersive,
which means that their wave speeds increase with increasing frequency.
Dispersive waves are odd to those not familiar with structural
vibrations. Imagine a long plate with two transverse sources at one end
which excite flexural waves in the plate. One source drives the plate at a low
frequency, while the other vibrates at a high frequency. The sources are
turned on at the same time, and somehow the high frequency wave arrives
at the other end of the plate faster than the low frequency wave.
The simplest structural waves are those that deform an infinite
material longitudinally and transversely. Longitudinal waves, sometimes
called compressional waves, expand and contract structures in the same way
acoustic waves deform fluids.
The wave equation and sound speed for a longitudinal wave traveling
in the x direction are:
(1)
(2)
Where w is the deformation (also in the x direction), B is the elastic bulk

modulus and ρ is the mass density.
The bulk modulus relates the amount of volumetric contraction (per unit
volume) to an applied pressure:
(3)
Low volumetric changes mean stiffer structures, and faster compressional
waves.
64

For audible frequencies, and for most practical structures, one or two
geometric dimensions are small with respect to a wavelength. As a
longitudinal wave expands or contracts a beam or plate in its direction of
propagation, the walls of the structure contract and expand transversely due
to the Poisson effect, as shown in Fig.4.1.
The Poisson’s ratio, which relates in and out of plane strain deformations
according to:
(4)
determines the amount of the off-axis deformation, which for

incompressible materials like rubber approaches the amount of the on-axis
deformation (a Poisson’s ratio of 0.5).
Fig.4.1. A longitudinal wave passing through a plate or beam

Longitudinal waves are therefore slower in structures like beams and
plates, since the free surfaces of the structural material are exposed to air or
fluid. Since the stiffness of most fluids that might surround a beam or plate is
smaller than that of the structural material, the free surfaces of the structure
act essentially as stress relievers, slowing down the compressional waves.
The sound speeds of longitudinal waves in beams and plates are:
(5)
(6)
Where cl is defined not by the Bulk Modulus, but by the Young’s Modulus E,
which is related to the volumetric Bulk Modulus according to:
65

(7)
For a typical Poisson’s ratio of 0.3, longitudinal wave speeds in plates and
beams are 90% and 86% of those in infinite structural media, respectively.
The key difference between acoustic waves in structural materials

and fluid media is a structure’s ability to resist shear deformation. This shear
stiffness allows pure shear waves to propagate through a structure, with the
structure deforming in its transverse direction as the wave propagates in the
axial direction as shown in Fig.3.2.
Shear wave behavior is governed by the same wave equation as longitudinal
waves, and acoustic waves in fluid media:
(8)
For Shear waves, which travel at the speed are slower than longitudinal
waves, since a structure’s shear modulus is smaller than its Bulk and Young’s
Moduli.
(9)
The shear modulus G is related to E and Poisson’s ratio according to:
(10)
Fig.4.2. A shear wave propagating through a plate or beam

4.3 Bending waves in beams and plates
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Most sound radiated by vibrating structures is caused by bending, or flexural

waves traveling through beams, plates, and shells, like the example shown in
Fig.4.3. Bending waves deform a structure transversely, so that they excite
acoustic waves in neighboring fluids. Although longitudinal and shear wave
behavior is simple and similar to that of acoustic waves in air or water while
bending waves are far more complicated. In particular, the speed of a bending
wave depends not only on the elastic moduli and density of the structural
material it travels through, but also on the geometric properties of the beam
or plate cross section. Also, bending wave speeds are dispersive, with the
curious property of depending on their frequency of oscillation.
Fig.4.3. A flexural, or bending wave propagating through a plate or beam
The wave equation and wave speed for flexure in thin beams are:
(11)
(12)
Note: the wave speed does not appear explicitly in the flexural wave
equation, and it depends on frequency
4.4 Digital Controller
Since the modern age, mankind has undertaken huge technological

development projects which are directed towards making life easy. Some of
these technological developments resulted in large machineries, cutting
edge robots and critical systems components. These inventions needed some
accurate control systems which did not required man’s intervention; the
control system was invented.
67

The first control systems were analogue and were later digitalised. In a
perfect situation with no errors Y = X G, but this is not true in real life
because of errors and energy conversion as shown in Fig.4.4.
Fig.4.4.Block diagram of digital controller
4.4.1 Digital Feedback controller
The concept of a digital feedback control was coin which feedbacks informed
the controller about the errors in the out and some measured were taken by
the controller to address the errors. Errors in the output means the targeted
output will not either be reached or surpass as shown in Fig.4.5.
There are generally two types of feedback controls – (i) negative and (ii)
positive digital feedback controls.
Fig.4.5.Block diagram of Digital feedback control
In a positive digital feedback control system the target output is not

reached; measures are taken to increase the output. While in a negative
digital feedback control the target output is surpass; some measures are
taken to reduce the output. A negative digital feedback controller is more
stable than a positive digital feedback controller. It makes the controller
immune to random variations in component values and inputs. A perfect
68

digital control is one with no errors in the loop; when the systems output is
equal to the targeted output as shown in Fig.4.6.
Fig.4.6.Block diagram for a feedback loop along with an algebraic proof

Example:
An example which demonstrates the use of a digital feedback control can be seen in
a cruise control of a car. The input is the car’s gas pedal controlled by the driver, the
system is the car’s engine and the output is the velocity of the car. When a cruise
control system is engaged the gas pedal is automatically adjusted to maintain a
predefined velocity (target speed) which is passed onto the feedback digital
controller. The actual speed of the car is feedback into the feedback digital
controller which compares it with the target speed. The feedback digital controller
will either increase or decrease the speed depending weather the car is driving or
slower than expected. This is illustrated in the block diagram of the feedback digital
controller shown in Fig.4.5 & 4.6. Digital feedback controls are used in almost
critical systems such as in marine systems, aerospace, industrial plants, automobile,
robotics, just to names these few.
4.5 control system design
Designing control system is very challenging as there are usually very

specific requirements which must be respected to the very detail. In most
cases the amplitude of the signal will rise above the target level (overshoot)
before settling at the targeted amplitude. The speed at which the signal
reaches the targeted amplitude will determine the performance of the
controller. The steady state error is the level of error tolerance the controller
and it depends on the signal input (sine/cosine, ramp, parabola or step). The
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shorter the settling time, the better performance the controller will have as
shown in Fig.4.7.
Fig.4.7.Amplitude v/s Time Response
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Module 5
Principles of Vibration & Modal Analysis, Information Processing
5.1 Introduction to vibration
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about

an equilibrium point. The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of
a pendulum—or random, such as the movement of a tire on a gravel road.
Vibration can be desirable: for example, the motion of a tuning fork,
the reed in a woodwind instrument or harmonica, a mobile phone, or the
cone of a loudspeaker.
In many cases, however, vibration is undesirable, wasting energy and
creating unwanted sound. For example, the vibrational motions
of engines, electric motors, or any mechanical device in operation are
typically unwanted. Such vibrations could be caused by imbalances in the
rotating parts, uneven friction, or the meshing of gear teeth. Careful designs
usually minimize unwanted vibrations.
The studies of sound and vibration are closely related. Sound, or
pressure waves, are generated by vibrating structures (e.g. vocal cords);
these pressure waves can also induce the vibration of structures (e.g. ear
drum). Hence, attempts to reduce noise are often related to issues of
vibration.
5.1.2 Types of Vibrations
Free vibration occurs when a mechanical system is set in motion with an
initial input and allowed to vibrate freely. Examples of this type of vibration
are pulling a child back on a swing and letting go, or hitting a tuning fork and
letting it ring. The mechanical system vibrates at one or more of its natural
frequencies and damps down to motionlessness.
Forced vibration is when a time-varying disturbance (load, displacement or
velocity) is applied to a mechanical system. The disturbance can be a
periodic and steady-state input, a transient input, or a random input. The
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periodic input can be a harmonic or a non-harmonic disturbance. Examples

of these types of vibration include a washing machine shaking due to an
imbalance, transportation vibration caused by an engine or uneven road, or
the vibration of a building during an earthquake. For linear systems, the
frequency of the steady-state vibration response resulting from the
application of a periodic, harmonic input is equal to the frequency of the
applied force or motion, with the response magnitude being dependent on
the actual mechanical system.
5.2 Vibration Analysis
Vibration Analysis (VA), applied in an industrial or maintenance

environment aims to reduce maintenance costs and equipment downtime by
detecting equipment faults. VA is a key component of a Condition Monitoring
(CM) program, and is often referred to as Predictive Maintenance (PdM).
Most commonly VA is used to detect faults in rotating equipment (Fans,
Motors, Pumps, and Gearboxes etc.) such as Unbalance, Misalignment,
rolling element bearing faults and resonance conditions.
VA can use the units of Displacement, Velocity and Acceleration displayed as
a Time Waveform (TWF), but most commonly the spectrum is used, derived
from a Fast Fourier Transform of the TWF. The vibration spectrum provides
important frequency information that can pinpoint the faulty component.
The fundamentals of vibration analysis can be understood by studying the
simple mass–spring–damper model. Indeed, even a complex structure such
as an automobile body can be modeled as a "summation" of simple mass–
spring–damper models. The mass–spring–damper model is an example of
a simple harmonic oscillator. The mathematics used to describe its behavior
is identical to other simple harmonic oscillators such as the RLC circuit.
5.3 Modal Analysis
Modal analysis is the study of the dynamic properties of structures

under vibrational excitation.
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Modal analysis is the field of measuring and analysing the dynamic response
of structures and or fluids during excitation. Examples would include
measuring the vibration of a car's body when it is attached to
an electromagnetic shaker, or the noise pattern in a room when excited by a
loudspeaker. Modern day modal analysis systems are composed of
1)sensors such as transducers (typically accelerometers, load cells), or non
contact via a Laser vibrometer, or stereo photogrammetric cameras 2) data
acquisition system and an analog-to-digital converter frontend
(to digitize analog instrumentation signals) and 3) host PC (personal
computer) to view the data and analyze it.
Classically this was done with a SIMO (single-input, multiple-output)
approach, that is, one excitation point, and then the response is measured at
many other points. In the past a hammer survey, using a fixed accelerometer
and a roving hammer as excitation, gave a MISO (multiple-input, single-
output) analysis, which is mathematically identical to SIMO, due to the
principle of reciprocity. In recent years MIMO (multi-input, multiple-output)
have become more practical, where partial coherence analysis identifies
which part of the response comes from which excitation source. Using
multiple shakers leads to a uniform distribution of the energy over the entire
structure and a better coherence in the measurement. A single shaker may
not effectively excite all the modes of a structure.[1]
Typical excitation signals can be classed as impulse, broadband, swept sine,
chirp, and possibly others. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The analysis of the signals typically relies on Fourier analysis. The
resulting transfer function will show one or more resonances, whose
characteristic mass, frequency and damping can be estimated from the
measurements.
The animated display of the mode shape is very useful to NVH (noise,
vibration, and harshness) engineers.
The results can also be used to correlate with finite element analysis normal
mode solutions.
5.4 Piezoelectric Materials and Peizoelectricity
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Certain materials produce electric charges on their surfaces as a

consequence of applying mechanical stress. The induced charges are
proportional to the mechanical stress. This is called the direct piezoelectric
effect and was discovered in quartz by Piere and Jacques Curie in 1880.
Materials showing this phenomenon also conversely have a geometric strain
proportional to an applied electric field. This is the converse piezoelectric
effect. The root of the word “piezo” means “pressure”; hence the original
meaning of the word piezoelectricity implied “pressure electricity.”
Piezoelectricity is extensively utilized in the fabrication of various devices
such as transducers, actuators, surface acoustic wave devices, frequency
control and so on.
5.4.1 Peizoelectric Actuators
Piezoelectric and electrostrictive devices have become key components in

smart actuator systems such as precision positioners, miniature ultrasonic
motors and adaptive mechanical dampers. This section reviews the
developments of piezoelectric and related ceramic actuators with particular
focus on the improvement of actuator materials, device designs and
applications of the actuators. Piezoelectric actuators are forming a new field
between electronic and structural ceramics. Application fields are classified
into three categories: positioners, motors and vibration suppressors.
The manufacturing precision of optical instruments such as lasers and
cameras, and the positioning accuracy for fabricating semiconductor chips,
which must be adjusted using solid-state actuators, are generally on the
order of 0.1 μm. Regarding conventional electromagnetic motors, tiny
motors smaller than 1 cm3 are often required in office or factory automation
equipment and are rather difficult to produce with sufficient energy
efficiency. Ultrasonic motors whose efficiency is insensitive to size are
considered superior in the mini-motor area. Vibration suppression in space
structures and military vehicles using piezoelectric actuators is another
promising field of application.
New solid-state displacement transducers controlled by temperature (shape
memory alloy) or magnetic field (magnetostrictive alloy) have been
proposed, but are generally inferior to the piezoelectric/electrostrictive
ceramic actuators because of current technological trends aimed at reduced
driving power and miniaturization. The shape memory actuator is too slow
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in response with a very low energy efficiency, while the magnetostrictor

requires a driving coil which is very bulky and generates magnetic noise.
An actuator is the generic name referring to devices that convert input

energy into mechanical energy, and various actuators have been developed
and put to practical use according to various types of input energy (Fig.5.1).
The electromagnetic, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators achieve
displacement indirectly by moving a piston by electromagnetic force or
pressure.
On the other hand, the piezoelectric actuator achieves displacement by
directly applying deformation of a solid, and thus features a higher
displacement accuracy, larger generation force and higher response speed
than other types of actuators. These advantages have resulted in the
piezoelectric actuator being applied mainly in industrial equipment
requiring precision position control, such as the ultrafine-movement stage of
semiconductor exposure systems, precision positioning probes and probes
for scanning tunnel microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
In addition, other advantages including the non-necessity of a driving coil,
ease of implementation of small devices, high energy conversion efficiency
and low power consumption have recently led to application in consumer
equipment such as digital cameras and cellular phone terminals.
Fig.5.1.Schematic of Various actuators
5.4.2 Features of Peizoelectric Actuator

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The piezoelectric ceramic material used in the piezoelectric actuator

generates electrical energy when it is subjected to mechanical energy
(piezoelectric effect) and generates mechanical energy when it is subjected
to electrical energy (inverse piezoelectric effect) (Fig.5.2).
The piezoelectric actuator is a device that makes use of the inverse
piezoelectric effect. For example, when a voltage of about 1,000V is applied
to a piezoelectric ceramic plate with a thickness of 1mm (1,000V/mm
electrical field), a displacement of about 1μm is obtained due to the inverse
piezoelectric effect. However, as this is in practice insufficient, because only
a small displacement can be obtained with a high drive voltage, the
piezoelectric actuators are structurally processed in order to obtain a larger
displacement from a lower drive voltage and the process has thus been put
to practical use.
Fig.5.2.Functions of piezoelectric ceramic
In order to reduce the drive voltage of a piezoelectric actuator, it is

necessary to reduce the thickness of the ceramic plate. For example,
reducing the plate thickness to 0.5mm makes it possible to apply a
1,000V/mm electrical field with a 500V drive voltage, which results in a
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reduction in the drive voltage. Fig.5.3 shows the scheme of typical

piezoelectric actuators.
Fig.5.3 (a) is an actuator called the bimorph piezoelectric actuator. It is
fabricated by processing two piezoelectric ceramic plates to a thickness of
some hundreds of μm and bonding them by inserting a metallic plate
between them. When an inverse voltage is applied to two piezoelectric
plates, warp deformation is a consequence. This arrangement can offer a
relatively large displacement but the force is not large. This device is
implemented in a cantilever construction for use in positioning mechanisms,
etc. and the drive voltage is usually some hundreds of volts.
Fig.5.3 (b) is an actuator called the multilayer piezoelectric actuator
(hereinafter referred to as the “multilayer actuator”). It is fabricated by
multilayer ceramic films of 100μm thickness, each of which is formed by the
green sheet process and electrode films of a few micrometers thickness,
which are then sintered together, the resulting structure being similar to a
ceramic capacitor.
The multilayer actuator features higher displacement accuracy, larger
generated force and higher response speed because of the lower drive
voltage due to the reduction in the ceramic plate thickness per layer and of
the possibility of utilizing the distortion and rigidity of the ceramic material
without adopting means such as a metallic rim.
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Fig.5.3.Typical examples of piezoelectric actuators
5.4.3 Applications of Peizoelectric Actuator
The field of applications of piezoelectric actuators is comparable to that of

electromagnetic actuators. The piezoelectric actuator has disadvantages
compared to the electromagnetic actuator in terms of its displacement
amount. However, it is advantageous from other aspects, including that of its
displacement accuracy, generated force and response speed and energy
efficiency as well as from the aspect of ease of proportional control and
absence of electromagnetic noise.
They can be used:
1. As AE Series multilayer actuator, which is coated with resin and
fabricated using the high-performance piezoelectric material NEPEC as a
unique full-face electrode structure, in which electric field and stress are
almost non-existent as shown in Fig 5.4.
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2. As multilayer actuator in the mass-flow controller for use in

semiconductor fabrication systems that require ultra-precise flow
control as shown in Fig 5.5.
3. In the semiconductor fabrication systems field have expanded, including
application in the precision position control stage of an exposure system
as shown in Fig.5.6.
4. For the optical axis alignment of optical fiber as shown in Fig.5.7.
5. For the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) drive as shown in Fig.5.8.
Fig.5.4.AE Multilayer Actuator Fig.5.5.Mass flow controller
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Fig.5.6.Precision Stage Fig.5.7.Optical fiber axis alignment mechanism
Fig.5.8.Hand blurring correction of digital cameras
5.5 Magnetic shape memory alloys
The shape memory effect is the ability of some alloys to remember, and
return to, the form which they had at one temperature after being plastically
deformed into another shape at a lower temperature. This property can be
exploited in many ways, for example, in actuators controlled by heat.Devices
based on shape memory alloys are being developed in fields as far apart as
astronautics and medicine. In order for an alloy to have the shape-memory
property, it must undergo what is called a martensitic transition. This
derives its name from a change in crystal structure when steel is cooled
rapidly to form so-called martensite, which has a variety of characteristic
microstructures.
The transition involves small displacements, or slips, between planes of
atoms in the crystal at a certain temperature. The shape memory alloy is
first formed at a temperature above that of the transition and then deformed
below it. The memory arises because residual stresses in the structure
introduced during the forming process, influence which slips then occur in
the martensitic transformation, and thus which variants of the martensitic
phase are present at the lower temperature. Shape memory alloys scatter
neutrons very effectively, so neutrons are an almost ideal probe with which
to view the martensitic transformation at a microstructural level. Neutron
diffraction can follow the evolution of different martensite variants as the
temperature is changed.
Magnetism:
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Combining the shape memory property with ferromagnetism, vastly

increases the range of applications. Magnetic fields can also influence the
martensitic transition, and the possibility of controlling shape memory
properties using a magnetic field is currently receiving much attention. An
alloy made of nickel, manganese and gallium (Ni2MnGa) is one of the rare
ferromagnetic shape memory alloys. It undergoes a martensitic transition
from a cubic structure to a tetragonal variant at a temperature around 200K.
Small position-sensitive detector on 4-circle diffractometer (D9) records the
scattered neutrons. The Fig.5.9 below shows how the diffraction pattern
evolves before, during and after the martensitic transition. At 235K, above
the transition, the scattering shows a single compact peak associated with
the cubic phase. At 206K, the martensitic transformation is under way, and
the original single peak has broken up into seven smaller peaks, each
corresponding to a different martensite variant. On further cooling, two of
the variants grow at the expense of the others so that at 200K there are just
two peaks in the pattern. On reheating the process is reversed and the
original cubic single crystal restored.
Fig.5.9. A 3D representation of the neutron scattering peaks as the crystal of the ferromagnetic
shape memory alloy is cooled through the martensitic transition
5.5.1 Magnetic shape memory effect

Magnetic-field induced reorientation, or the magnetic shape memory effect,
is defined as “the magnetic-field-induced rearrangement of (ferromagnetic)
twinned martensite microstructure along with a large macroscopic
deformation”.
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5.5.2 Properties of Magnetic SMA
1. Magnetic shape memory effect of up to 6% elongation in a magnetic field.

2. It exhibits inverse magneto-strictive effect.
3. It shows shape memory alloy effect with a shape change caused by
applying a magnetic field as well as a shape change is caused by
temperature.
4. If the element is completely compressed or elongated, a change in
resistance occurs.
5. Exhibits controlled spring properties.
5.5.3 Applications of Magnetic SMA
1. Actuators
The magnetic shape memory effect can be used for designing actuators
shown in Fig.5.10 where the element elongates based on the presence of a
magnetic field. The elongation can be reversed fully either by the application
of a magnetic field at 90° to the original field, or more effectively by use of a
spring. The change in shape is very quick and cycle times of 1 to 2 kHz have
been shown. During fatigue life testing several million cycles have been
achieved.
These materials cannot achieve the frequency of piezo-based materials or

magnetostrictive materials, however they offer much higher strain outputs
(typically 10 to 100 times more). They also offer higher energy density
typically up to 100kJm-3 compared to 14 to 30kJm-3 for magnetostrictive
materials and 0.8 to 2kJm-3 for piezo-based materials.
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Fig.5.10.actuator with return spring
2. Breaker Switch/Fuse
The thermal shape memory property whereby the material elongates more
above 70°C can be used as a safety cut-out. If a safe working temperature is
exceeded, there is further extension cutting the magnetic field generation.
This additional elongation can be reversed fully and below 70°C, normal
functioning of the actuator is observed.
3. Energy Harvestors
The elongation or compression of the material causes it to change

any magnetic field in which it is placed, known as variable magnetic
permeability under varying stress, which can be used for harvesting
vibrational energy. Possible uses include battery charging in environments
where it is difficult to gain access to the batteries for replacement.
4. Vibration Dampers
The same properties used to create energy harvesters can also be used to
dampen mechanical vibration.
5. Sensors
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Using the material’s properties, it is possible to construct speed sensors as

well as distance, strain and magnetic field detectors.
5.6 Data Reliability
Data reliability is a state that exists when data is sufficiently complete and
error free to be convincing for its purpose and context. In addition to being
reliable, data must also meet other tests for evidence.
Computer-processed data must meet evidence standards before it can support a
finding:
1. Relevance
Relevant if it has a logical, sensible relationship to the finding it supports. What
data is relevant to answering an audit objective is usually self-evident, presuming
a precise objective written as a question. Timeliness (the age of the evidence)
must be considered, as outdated data is considered irrelevant. As a result,
relevance is closely tied to the scope of the audit work, which establishes what
time period will be covered. Data is relevant if they have a logical, sensible
relationship to the overall audit objective in terms of:
 the audit subject
 the aspect of performance being examined
 the finding element to which the evidence pertains, and
 the time period of the issue being audited
2. Sufficient
Sufficient if there is enough of it to support the finding. Sufficiency

establishes that
evidence or data provided has not been overstated or inappropriately
generalized. Like relevance, sufficiency must be judged in relationship to the
finding element to which the data pertains, and is closely tied to the audit
scope. The audit scope establishes what portion of the universe is covered
(important for sufficiency) through 3 choices:
 obtain data on (mine) the entire universe
 sample the universe
 limit findings to that portion or segment of the universe they examine
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3. Competant
Competent if it is both valid and reliable. In assessing computer-processed

data, the focus is usually on one test in the evidence standard—
competence—which includes both validity and reliability. "Auditors should
determine if other auditors have worked to stablish the validity and
reliability of the data or the effectiveness of the controls over the system that
produced it. If they have, auditors may be able to use that work. If not,
auditors can obtain evidence about the competence of computer-processed
data by direct tests of the data (through or around the computer, or a
combination of both.) Auditors can reduce the direct tests of the data if they
test the effectiveness of general and application controls over computer-
processed data, and these tests support the conclusion that controls are
effective."
5.6.1 Data Reliability Testing
Data reliability refers to the accuracy and completeness of computer-

processed data, given the intended purposes for use.
Reliability does not mean that computer-processed data is error free. It
means that any errors found were within a tolerable range - that you have
assessed the associated risk and found the errors are not significant enough
to cause a reasonable person, aware of the errors, to doubt a finding,
conclusion, or recommendation based on the data. Data can refer to either
information that is entered into a system or information generated as a
result of computer processing. Data is considered reliable when it is:
 Complete - includes all of the data elements and records needed
for the engagement. A data element is a unit of information with
definable parameters and is also called a data variable or data
field
 Accurate:
Consistent - data was obtained and used in a manner that is
clear and well-defined enough to yield similar results in
similar analysis.
Correct - the data set reflects the data entered at the source.
 Unaltered data reflects source and has not been tampered with.
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5.6.2 Data Processing
Data processing is, generally, "the collection and manipulation of items of

data to produce meaningful information. It can be considered a subset
of information processing which is defined as the change (processing) of
information in any manner detectable by an observer.
Some of the data processing processes are:
1. Manual data processing
2. Automatic data processing
3. Electronic data processing
5.6.3 Applications of data processing

Some of the applications are:
1. Commercial data processing
2. Data analysis
1. Commercial data processing

Commercial data processing involves a large volume of input data, relatively
few computational operations, and a large volume of output. For example, an
insurance company needs to keep records on tens or hundreds of thousands
of policies, print and mail bills, and receive and post payments.
2. Data analysis
For science or engineering, the terms data processing and information
systems are considered too broad, and the more specialized term data
analysis is typically used. Data analysis uses specialized and
precise algorithms and statistical calculations that are less often observed in
a typical general business environment. For data analysis, softwares
like SPSS or SAS, or their free counterparts such as DAP, gretl or PSPP are
often used.
5.6.4 Data visualization

Data visualization or data visualisation is viewed by many disciplines as a
modern equivalent of visual communication. It involves the creation and
study of the visual representation of data i.e., "information that has been
abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the
units of information.
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A primary goal of data visualization is to communicate information clearly

and efficiently via statistical graphics, plots and information graphics.
Numerical data may be encoded using dots, lines, or bars, to visually
communicate a quantitative message. Effective visualization helps users
analyze and reason about data and evidence. It makes complex data more
accessible, understandable and usable. Users may have particular analytical
tasks, such as making comparisons or understanding causality, and the
design principle of the graphic (i.e., showing comparisons or showing
causality) follows the task. Tables are generally used where users will look
up a specific measurement, while charts of various types are used to show
patterns or relationships in the data for one or more variables.
5.7 Introduction to MEMS
This concept deals with the emerging field of micro-electromechanical

systems, or MEMS. MEMS is a process technology used to create tiny
integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and electrical
components.
They are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) batch processing techniques
and can range in size from a few micrometers to millimetres. These devices
(or systems) have the ability to sense, control and actuate on the micro scale,
and generate effects on the macro scale.
The interdisciplinary nature of MEMS utilizes design, engineering and
manufacturing expertise from a wide and diverse range of technical areas
including integrated circuit fabrication technology, mechanical engineering,
materials science, electrical engineering, chemistry and chemical
engineering, as well as fluid engineering, optics, instrumentation and
packaging.
MEMS can be found in systems ranging across automotive, medical,
electronic, communication and defense applications. Some of the New MEMS
devices include accelerometers for airbag sensors, inkjet printer heads,
computer disk drive read/write heads, projection display chips, blood
pressure sensors, optical switches, microvalves, biosensors and many other
products that are all manufactured and shipped in high commercial volumes.
MEMS have been identified as one of the most promising technologies for
the 21st Century and has the potential to revolutionize both industrial and
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consumer products by combining silicon based microelectronics with

micromachining technology. Its techniques and micro system based devices
have the potential to dramatically affect of all of our lives and the way we
live. If semiconductor micro-fabrication was seen to be the first micro-
manufacturing revolution, MEMS is the second revolution.
5.7.1 Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems
A micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) is a process technology used to

create tiny integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and
electrical components.
These devices are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) batch processing
techniques and can range in size from a few micrometers to millimeters and
have the ability to sense, control and actuate on the micro scale, and
generate effects on the macro scale.
In the most general form, MEMS consist of mechanical micro-structures,
micro-sensors, micro-actuators and microelectronics, all integrated onto the
same silicon chip. This is shown schematically in Fig.5.11.
Fig.5.11.Components of MEMS
Microsensors detect changes in the system’s environment by measuring
mechanical, thermal, magnetic, chemical or electromagnetic information or
phenomena.
Microelectronics process this information and signal the microactuators to
react and create some form of changes to the environment.
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MEMS devices are very small and are usually microscopic as Levers, gears,
pistons, as well as motors and even steam engines have all been fabricated
by MEMS as shown in Fig.5.12. MEMS is not just about the miniaturization of
mechanical components or making things out of silicon, it is a manufacturing
technology; a paradigm for designing and creating complex mechanical
devices and systems as well as their integrated electronics using batch
fabrication techniques.
Fig.5.12.Examples for MEMS
5.7.2 Advantages of MEMS
MEMS have several distinct advantages as a manufacturing technology:
1. Interdisciplinary nature of MEMS technology and its micromachining

techniques, as well as its diversity of applications has resulted in an
unprecedented range of devices and synergies across previously
unrelated fields (for example biology and microelectronics).
2. MEMS with its batch fabrication techniques enables components and
devices to be manufactured with increased performance and reliability,
combined with the obvious advantages of reduced physical size, volume,
weight and cost.
3. MEMS provide the basis for the manufacture of products that cannot be
made by other methods.
These factors make MEMS potentially a far more pervasive technology than
integrated circuit microchips. However, there are many challenges and
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technological obstacles associated with miniaturization that need to be

addressed and overcome before MEMS can realize its overwhelming
potential.
5.7.3 Classification of Micro systems technology (MST)
Fig.5.13 illustrates the classifications of microsystems technology (MST) and

MEMS is also referred to as MST as it is a process technology used to create
these tiny mechanical devices or systems, and as a result, it is a subset of
MST.
A micro-opto-electro-mechanical system (MOEMS) is also a subset of MST
and together with MEMS forms the specialized technology fields using
miniaturized combinations of optics, electronics and mechanics. Both their
micro-systems incorporate the use of microelectronics batch processing
techniques for their design and fabrication.
Fig.5.13.Classification of Micro Systems Technology
5.7.4 Transducer, Sensor and Actuator
1. A transducer is a device that transforms one form of signal or energy

into another form, and includes both sensors and actuators.
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2. A sensor is a device that measures information from a surrounding

environment and provides an electrical output signal in response to the
parameter it measured.
3. An actuator is a device that converts an electrical signal into an action
and can create a force to manipulate itself, other mechanical devices, or
the surrounding environment to perform some useful function.
5.7.5 Applications of MEMS
1. Automotive – internal navigation sensors, Air conditioning compressor

sensor, Brake force sensors & Suspension control accelerometers, Fuel
level and vapour pressure sensors, Airbag sensors, intelligent tyres.
2. Electronics – disk drive heads, inkjet printer head, projection screen
televisions, earth quake sensors, avionic pressure sensors, mass data
storage systems.
3. Medical – Blood pressure sensors, muscle simulator & drug delivery
systems, implanted pressure sensors, prosthetics, miniature analytical
instruments, pacemakers.
4. Communications – fiber-optic network components, RF relay-switches-
filters, projection displays, voltage controlled oscillators, splitters &
couplers, tuneable lasers.
5. Defense – munitions guidance, surveillance, arming systems, embedded
sensors, data storage, aircraft control.
5.7.6 Miniaturization
As MEMS is not about miniaturization, it is a manufacturing technology used

to create tiny integrated micro-devices and systems using IC batch
fabrication techniques while miniaturization is not just about shrinking
down existing devices but it’s about completely rethinking the structure of a
micro-system.
In order to manufacture a successful MEMS device, basic physics and

operating principles including scaling laws need to be fully understood and
appreciated at both a macro and micro-level. Sometimes no advantages in
terms of performance, size/weight, reliability and cost can be gained with a
MEMS device. In such as case, Increased surface area (S) to volume (V) ratios
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at micro-scales have both considerable advantages and disadvantages

(Fig.5.14).
Fig.5.14.Effect of miniaturization on surface area and volume
Some of the micro-level issues include:

 Friction is greater than inertia. Capillary, electrostatic and atomic
forces as well as stiction at a micro-level can be significant.
 Heat dissipation is greater than heat storage.
 Fluidic or mass transport properties are extremely important.
 Material properties (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, grain
structure) and mechanical theory (residual stress, wear and
fatigue etc.) may be size dependent.
 Integration with on-chip circuitry is complex and device/domain
specific.
 Miniature device packaging and testing is not straightforward.
Certain MEMS sensors require environmental access as well as
protection from other external influences. Testing is not rapid and
is expensive in comparison with conventional IC devices.
 Cost – for the success of a MEMS device, it needs to leverage its IC
batch fabrication resources and be mass-produced. Hence mass-
market drivers must be found to generate the high volume
production.
5.7.7 Fabrication Methods for MEMS
MEMS fall into three general classification:

1. Bulk micromachining
2. Surface micromachining
3. High-aspect-ratio micromachining (HARM) - Lithography
92

1. Photolithography
Photolithography is the photographic technique to transfer copies of a

master pattern, usually a circuit layout in IC applications, onto the surface of
a substrate of some material (usually a silicon wafer).
The substrate is covered with a thin film of some material, usually silicon
dioxide (SiO2), in the case of silicon wafers, on which a pattern of holes will
be formed as shown in Fig.5.15. A thin layer of an organic polymer, which is
sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, is then deposited on the oxide layer which
is called a photoresist.
Fig.5.15.Photolithography Principle
93

A photomask, consisting of a glass plate (transparent) coated with a

chromium pattern (opaque), is then placed in contact with the photoresist
coated surface. The wafer is exposed to the ultraviolet radiation transferring
the pattern on the mask to the photoresist which is then developed in a way
very similar to the process used for developing photographic films. The
radiation causes a chemical reaction in the exposed areas of the photoresist
of which there are two types; positive and negative.
Positive photoresist is strengthened by UV radiation whereas negative
photoresists are weakened. On developing, the rinsing solution removes
either the exposed areas or the unexposed areas of photoresist leaving a
pattern of bare and photoresist-coated oxides on the wafer surface. The
resulting photoresist pattern is either the positive or negative image of the
original pattern of the photomask.
A chemical (usually hydrochloric acid) is used to attack and remove the
uncovered oxide from the exposed areas of the photoresist. The remaining
photoresist is subsequently removed, usually with hot sulphuric acid which
attacks the photoresist but not the oxide layer on the silicon, leaving a
pattern of oxide on the silicon surface. The final oxide pattern is either a
positive or negative copy of the photomask pattern and serves as a mask in
subsequent processing steps.
2. Materials used to Micromachining
(a) Substrates
The most common substrate material for micromachining is silicon. It
has been successful in the microelectronics industry and will continue to
be in areas of miniaturization for several reasons:
 Silicon is abundant, inexpensive, and can be processed to
unparalleled purity.
 Silicon’s ability to be deposited in thin films is very amenable to
MEMS.
 High definition and reproduction of silicon device shapes using
photolithography are perfect for high levels of MEMS precision.
 Silicon microelectronics circuits are batch fabricated.
(b) Additive Films and Materials
94

The range of additive films and materials for MEMS devices is much
larger than the types of possible substrates and includes conductors,
semiconductors and insulators such as:
 Silicon - single crystal, polycrystalline and amorphous.
 Silicon compounds (SixNy, SiO2, SiC etc.).
 Metals and metallic compounds (Au, Cu, Al, ZnO, GaAs, IrOx, CdS).
 Ceramics (Al203 and more complex ceramic compounds).
 Organics (diamond, polymers, enzymes, antibodies, DNA etc.).
3. Bulk Micromachining
Bulk micromachining involves the removal of part of the bulk substrate. It is

a subtractive process that uses wet anisotropic etching or a dry etching
method such as reactive ion etching (RIE), to create large pits, grooves and
channels.
Materials typically used for wet etching include silicon and quartz, while dry
etching is typically used with silicon, metals, plastics and ceramics.
(a) Wet Etching
Wet etching describes the removal of material through the immersion of a

material (typically a silicon wafer) in a liquid bath of a chemical etchant.
These etchants can be isotropic or anisotropic.
Isotropic etchants etch the material at the same rate in all directions, and
consequently remove material under the etch masks at the same rate as they
etch through the material and this is known as undercutting (Fig.5.16). The
most common form of isotropic silicon etch is HNA, which comprises a
mixture of hydrofluoric acid (HF), nitric acid (HNO 3) and acetic acid
(CH3COOH). Isotropic etchants are limited by the geometry of the structure
to be etched. Etch rates can slow down and in some cases (for example, in
deep and narrow channels) they can stop due to diffusion limiting factors.
However, this effect can be minimized by agitation of the etchant, resulting
in structures with near perfect and rounded surfaces.
Anisotropic etchants etch faster in a preferred direction. Potassium
hydroxide (KOH) is the most common anisotropic etchant as it is relatively
safe to use. Structures formed in the substrate are dependent on the crystal
orientation of the substrate or wafer.
95

Fig.5.16.Wet etching
(b) Dry Etching
Dry etching relies on vapour phase or plasma-based methods of etching

using suitably reactive gases or vapours usually at high temperatures. The
most common form for MEMS is reactive ion etching (RIE) which utilizes
additional energy in the form of radio frequency (RF) power to drive the
chemical reaction.
Energetic ions are accelerated towards the material to be etched within a
plasma phase supplying the additional energy needed for the reaction, as a
result the etching can occur at much lower temperatures (typically 150º -
250ºC, sometimes room temperature) than those usually needed (above
1000ºC). RIE is not limited by the crystal planes in the silicon, and as a
result, deep trenches and pits, or arbitrary shapes with vertical walls can be
etched.
Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) is a much higher-aspect-ratio etching
method that involves an alternating process of high-density plasma etching
(as in RIE) and protective polymer greater aspect ratios as shown in
Fig.5.17. Etch rates depend on time, concentration, temperature and
material to be etched.
96

Fig.5.17.Deep Reactive Ion Etching
4. Surface Micromachining
Surface micromachining involves processing above the substrate, mainly

using it as a foundation layer on which to build. Material is added to the
substrate in the form of layers of thin films on the surface of the substrate
(typically a silicon wafer). These layers can either by structural layers or act
as spacers, later to be removed, when they are known as sacrificial layers.
Hence the process usually involves films of two different materials:
(a) Structural material out of which the free standing structure is made &
(b) Sacrificial material, deposited wherever either an open area or a free
standing mechanical structure is required.
These layers (or thin films) are deposited and subsequently dry etched in
sequence, with the sacrificial material being finally wet etched away to
release the final structure. Each additional layer is accompanied by an
increasing level of complexity and a resulting difficulty in fabrication.
A typical surface micromachined cantilever beam is shown in Fig.5.18. Here,
a sacrificial layer of oxide is deposited on the silicon substrate surface using
a pattern and photolithography. A polysilicon layer is then deposited and
patterned using RIE processes to form a cantilever beam with an anchor pad.
The wafer is then wet etched to remove the oxide (sacrificial) layer releasing
and leaving the beam on the substrate.
97

Fig.5.18.Surface micromachining of cantilever beam
5. Fusion bonding
In order to form more complex and larger MEMS structures, micro-

machined silicon wafers can be bonded to other materials in a process
known as fusion bonding.
It is a technique that enables virtually seamless integration of multiple
layers and relies on the creation of atomic bonds between each layer either
directly (with heating and pressure in the case of glass to wafer bonding), or
through a thin film of silicon dioxide as shown in Fig.5.19.
The resulting composite has very low residual stress due to matching
coefficients of thermal expansion from each layer. In addition, the
mechanical strength of the bond is comparable to that of the adjoining layers
resulting in a very strong composite fabrication technique for enclosed
cavities and channels.
Fig.5.19.Formation of sealed cavity using fusion bonding
98

6. High-Aspect-Ratio Micromachining
High-aspect-ratio micromachining (HARM) is a process that involves

micromachining as a tooling step followed by injection moulding or
embossing and, if required, by electroforming to replicate microstructures in
metal from moulded parts.
It is one of the most attractive technologies for replicating microstructures
at a high performance-to-cost ratio and includes technique known as LIGA.
Products micro=machined with this technique include high aspect- ratio
fluidic structures such as moulded nozzle plates for inkjet printing and
micro-channel plates for disposable micro-titreplates in medical diagnostic
applications.
LIGA Process (Lithography-Electroforming-Moulding)

LIGA is an important tooling and replication method for high-aspect-ratio
microstructures. The technique employs X-ray synchrotron radiation to
expose thick acrylic resist of PMMA under a lithographic mask as shown in
Fig.5.20.
The exposed areas are chemically dissolved and, in areas where the material
is removed, metal is electroformed, thereby defining the tool insert for the
succeeding moulding step and this process is capable of creating very finely
defined microstructures up to 1000 μm high.
Fig.5.20. LIGA process
99

7. Laser Micromachining
Fig.5.21.Working of Laser micro-machining
The laser micromachining (LMM) equipment can be used for engraving and
creating micro-features in metallic substrates. The parts to be removed are
locally vaporized using Nd: YAG laser and that vapor can be sucked with a
vacuum pump.
Upon irradiation by a light beam with a high energy density, materials are
immediately melted or vaporized as shown in Fig.5.21. This is how laser can
effectively machine hard materials like diamond, glass and ceramic. Laser
irradiation of a medium may cause varying thermal effects from simple
heating to melting, evaporation, or ionization of the material. For high power
laser processing, all of these phenomena occur almost simultaneously.
5.8 Neural Networks
A Neutral network is a set of genes all related by point mutations that have
equivalent function or fitness. Each node represents a gene sequence and
each line represents the mutation connecting two sequences. Neutral
networks can be thought of as high, flat plateaus in a fitness landscape.
During neutral evolution, genes can randomly move through neutral
networks and traverse regions of sequence space which may have
consequences for robustness and evolvability.
100

5.8.1 Artificial Neural Network
In machine learning and cognitive science, artificial neural networks (ANNs)

are a family of models inspired by biological neural networks (the central
nervous systems of animals, in particular the brain) which are used to
estimate or approximate functions that can depend on a large number
of inputs and are generally unknown.
Artificial neural networks are typically specified using three things:
 Architecture specifies the variables are involved in the network and

their topological relationships (Example: variables might be
the weights of the connections between the neurons, along
with activities of the neurons).
 Activity Rule as most neural network models have short time-scale
dynamics, local rules define how the activities of the neurons change in
response to each other. Typically the activity rule depends on
the weights (the parameters) in the network.
 Learning Rule The learning rule specifies the way in which the neural
network's weights change with time. This learning is usually viewed as
taking place on a longer time scale than the time scale of the dynamics
under the activity rule. Usually the learning rule will depend on
the activities of the neurons. It may also depend on the values of
the target values supplied by a teacher and on the current value of the
weights.
Example: A neural network for handwriting recognition is defined by a set of input neurons
which may be activated by the pixels of an input image. After being weighted and
transformed by a function (determined by the network's designer), the activations of these
neurons are then passed on to other neurons. This process is repeated until finally, the
output neuron that determines which character was read is activated.
101

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Theory on Smart Materials and its Applications

1.1 Smart Materials

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.2 Characteristics of composite materials

A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened

1. Specific strength-This is simply the rigidity or hardness of a material with

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.3 Characteristics of ceramic materials

A ceramic is an inorganic non-metallic solid made up of either metal or non-

1.4 Shape Memory Alloys

A shape memory transformation was first observed in 1932 in an alloy of

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.4.1 Working of Shape Memory Alloy

The SME describes the process of a material changing shape or remembering a

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.4.2 Applications of Shape Memory Alloys

Shape memory alloys have found a large number of uses in aerospace,

Quite fortunately NiTiNOL is biocompatible, that is, it can be used in the

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

Fig 1.2. Reinforced vascular graft contains rings

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.4.3 General characteristics of SMA

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.5. Magneto-Rheological Fluid

A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) is a type of smart fluid in a carrier fluid,

Fig 1.7. Schematic of a magnetorheological fluid

Typical MR fluid consists of these three parts:

a) Carbonyl Iron Particles -- 20 to 40 percent of the fluid is made of these soft

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

c) Proprietary Additives -- The third component of MR fluid is a secret, but

1.5.1 Modes of MR fluids

1. Flow Mode (Fig 1.8)

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.5.2 Advantages of MR Fluids

1.5.3 Disadvantages of MR Fluids

1.5.4 Applications of MR Fluids

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

changes. Moreover the accumulator pressure can be used to enhance the

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

Fig 1.13 MR Brake Fig 1.14 MR Clutch

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.6. Electro-Rheological Fluids

Fig 1.15. Behavior of ER fluid before and after electric field

1.6.1. Classification of ER Fluids

The ER fluid can be classified based on the existing phases as:

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

Fig.1.16. Classification of ER Fluids

1.6.2 Modes of ER Fluids

1. Flow Mode (Fig 1.17)

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

Fig.1.17.Flow mode Fig.1.18.Shear mode Fig.1.19.Squeeze-Flow mode

1.6.3 Advantages of ER fluids

1. ER device can control considerably more mechanical power than the

1.6.4 Disadvantages of ER fluids

1. ER fluids as suspensions tend to settle out in time.

1.6.5 Potential Applications of ER Fluids

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

1.7 Electromagnetic Materials

Electromagnetic (EM) industries rely heavily upon high performance

Conductive coatings consist of conductive filler—usually a flake or

Prepared by Manjunatha Babu N S, DrTTIT-KGF

 Reflective ground plane for resonant absorbers