Depending on the future popularity of the use of smart materials and the visible effects on our buildings, our picture regarding our built environment will change from what we are used to seeing as architecture. The author has been involved in the development and application of smart materials and adaptive and kinetic structures in the fields of experimental architecture and innovative design for more than ten years. These materials and products can be divided into different groups depending on their ability to change or have their properties changed by external influences.
Shape-changing smart materials include materials and products that are capable of reversibly changing their shape and/or dimensions in response to one or more external stimuli, such as light, temperature, pressure, electric or magnetic fields, or chemical stimulus. Among them are materials and products that can change their shape without changing their dimensions, and other materials and products that retain their shape but change their dimensions. The inherent properties of these smart materials depend on the various principles behind their deformation.
Smart materials that have a single active sensitive component generally expand or contract evenly; the same applies to smart materials that are composed of a passive component, e.g. Thermostrictive, piezoelectric, electroactive, and chemostrictive smart materials are currently of greatest interest in the field of architecture, due to their availability, predicted long-term stability, and other factors. Assuming further successful development and commercialization, in the near future we may see other smart materials gain prominence, including photostrictive and magnetostrictive ones.
Thermostrictive smart materials have intrinsic properties that enable them to respond to ambient temperature changes by reversibly changing their shape and/or dimensions.
ALKANES C10 TO C18
SIMPLE STRAPS, U-PROFILE CURVED STRAPS They can be mounted and clamped at one or both ends. They can be used singly or in sequence to increase the effect by holding in their center or in the sleeve. It can be used as an actuator or positioner drive to create continuous and sudden (at pre-set points) linear movements.
ASSEMBLIES WITH TBs: TIRES, PARTS OF TBs AND OTHER MATERIALS Can be installed in the same manner as stamped parts. They can be clamped at one or both ends, installed as endless, and woven by hand or mechanically, depending on the diameter and mesh size. Can be used as active components in self-healing and self-forming surfacing components, for example cladding.
They can be made from conductive polymers (CP), treated and processed with constraints similar to conventional yarns and textile fibers. Can be used to create linear motion by grouping drive and positioning drives, various applications as fabrics. They can be made from dielectric EAPs, installed as clamped at one or both ends, and used to form enclosure components, for example.
They can be made of conductive polymers (CP) and can be installed as clamped at one end. It can be used to create continuous linear motions by combining actuation and positioning drives and as spring elements. The walls that form the narrow sides of the pool are also composed of EAP and, depending on the activities, are formed into niches of different sizes that can be used as independent saunas.
The time over which this occurs can be controlled and influenced by genetic modification of the protein. Other colors, including red and blue, can be produced by the addition of organic PCs, such as spirodihydroindolizines. Available on the market, can be made in large quantities, can be used at low to medium temperatures (< –20°C to > +100°C), reasonable number of cycles of possible color changes, suitable for precise applications, non-toxic .
Market presence, can be produced in large quantities, can be used at low to medium temperatures (< –20°C to > +130°C), suitable number of cycles of possible color changes, non-toxic. Eight different colors available, possible treatment with other decorative colors and concentrates based on the same base.
Mayer H., Germany
A metal oxide that can be made by oxidizing the heavy metal niobium with pure oxygen. Not available everywhere, effects are light dependent, only about 5% of solar radiation can be used (radiation absorption < 413 nm wavelength). We can only use about 5% of solar radiation (radiation absorption < 388 nm wavelength).
The abrasion resistance of the paint can be improved by applying a transparent protective varnish. Depending on the cut and the dimensions, this type of material can be used as lights, room dividers or curtains. They can be used in architecture wherever high light output is required and the necessary electrical energy is available.
Can be used in low to medium temperatures (< –20°C to > +50°C) and for relatively complex luminous surfaces. They can be classified as thin-film TEGs, thick-film TEGs, or macro-TEGs, depending on the thickness of the semiconductor film. Presence on the market, can be used in low to medium temperatures (> +300°C), good efficiency (about 8%, depending on temperature difference among other parameters).
Market presence, can be used at low and high temperatures (< +800°C), can be used in highly oxidizing atmospheres (e.g. gas burners). Market presence, can be realized in large quantities, highly elastic, non-toxic, impervious to moisture, relatively cheap compared to PZT. Market presence, can be made in large quantities, highly elastic, non-toxic, impervious to moisture.
They can be clamped at one or both ends depending on the shape and design. They can e.g. are used as piezoelectric generators, energy-independent sensors (piezoelectric effect) and for micro-positioning and vibration absorption (inverse piezoelectric effect) on micro- and macroscale systems. Presence on the market, can be used in low to medium temperatures (< +250°C, depending on PZT modification among other parameters), relatively large travel distances that can be achieved compared to multilayer linear actuators (> 2 mm, depending on dimensions and voltages among other parameters ), with ceramic insulation virtually insensitive to moisture, very long replacement life (> 1000 000 cycles).
They can be used as piezoelectric generators, energy-independent sensors (piezoelectric effect) and for micropositioning and vibration absorption (inverse piezoelectric effect) on micro- and macroscale systems. Market presence, can be used in medium temperatures (< +250°C, depending on PZT modification among other parameters), very long replacement life (> 1000 000 cycles), with ceramic insulation largely insensitive to moisture. They can be used as energy-independent sensors (piezoelectric effect) and for deformation (inverse piezoelectric effect) on micro- and macroscale components or systems.
The system provides passive air conditioning of the facade and can be used in almost the same way as conventional insulating glazing systems.
