Since the 1980s, scientists have been researching adaptive structures for materials, for multifunctional elements or even for complete systems. Adaptronics (smart materials, smart structures, smart systems) is a field of distinct interdisciplinarity. The book therefore offers an interdisciplinary view of adaptronic systems, materials and functional elements and their applications. The subject matter integrates various engineering disciplines, from electrical engineering and information tec...

Composite structures are most efficient in performance and production cost when combined with smart materials making them adaptable to changing operational conditions.The specific production processes of composites offer the possibility to integrate more functions thus making the structure more valuable. Active functions can be realized by smart materials, e.g. morphing, active vibration control, active structure acoustic control or structure health monitoring. The foundation is a s...

The book focuses especially on the application of SHM technology to thin walled structural systems made from carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Here, guided elastic waves (Lamb-waves) show an excellent sensitivity to structural damages so that they are in the center of this book. It is divided into 4 sections dealing with analytical, numerical and experimental fundamentals, and subsequently with Lamb-wave propagation in fiber reinforced composites, SHM-systems and signal processing....

The book explores the effect of nanoscale matrix additives along the four levels of material formation, particle-resin interaction, the influence of nanoparticles on the processability of the polymer, the influence of nanoparticles on polymer curing and the influence of nanoparticles on the fiber plastic composite. Fiber-reinforced plastics have a significantly higher lightweight construction potential in components with a primary single- or biaxial stress state compared to isotropic metal...