• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2011

An understanding of biomaterials' smart properties and how biocomposite materials are manufactured by cells provides not only bio-inspiration for new classes of smart actuators and sensors but also foundational technology for smart materials and their manufacture. In this case study, I examine the unique smart properties of bone, which are evident at multiple length scales and how they provide inspiration for novel classes of mechanoactive materials. I then review potential approaches to engineer and manufacture bioinspired smart materials that can be applied to solve currently intractable problems such as the need for "smart" body armor or decor cum personal safety devices.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.10
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• pp.1755-1760
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• 2016

Automation of greenhouses has proved to be extremely helpful in maximizing crop yields and minimizing labor costs. The optimum conditions for cultivating plants are regularly maintained by the use of programmed sensors and actuators with constant monitoring of the system. In this paper, we have designed a prototype of a smart greenhouse using Arduino microcontroller, simple yet improved in feedbacks and algorithms. Only three important microclimatic parameters namely moisture level, temperature and light are taken into consideration for the design of the system. Signals acquired from the sensors are first isolated and filtered to reduce noise before it is processed by Arduino. With the help of LabVIEW program, Time domain analysis and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the acquired signals are done to analyze the waveform. Especially, for smoothing the outlying data digitally, Moving average algorithm is designed. With the implement of this algorithm, variations in the sensed data which could occur from rapidly changing environment or imprecise sensors, could be largely smoothed and stable output could be created. Also, actuators are controlled with constant feedbacks to ensure desired conditions are always met. Lastly, data is constantly acquired by the use of Data Acquisition Hardware and can be viewed through PC or Smart devices for monitoring purposes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.229-240
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• 2011

Recent developments in Smart Structures with very large scale embedded sensors and actuators have introduced new challenges in terms of data processing and sensor fusion. These smart structures are dynamically classified as a large-scale system with thousands of sensors and actuators that form the musculoskeletal of the structure, analogous to human body. In order to develop structural health monitoring and diagnostics with data provided by thousands of sensors, new sensor informatics has to be developed. The focus of our on-going research is to develop techniques and algorithms that would utilize this musculoskeletal system effectively; thus creating the intelligence for such a large-scale autonomous structure. To achieve this level of intelligence, three major research tasks are being conducted: development of a Bio-Inspired data analysis and information extraction from thousands of sensors; development of an analytical technique for Optimal Sensory System using Structural Observability; and creation of a bio-inspired decision-making and control system. This paper is focused on the results of our effort on the first task, namely development of a Neuro-Morphic Engineering approach, using a neuro-symbolic data manipulation, inspired by the understanding of human information processing architecture, for sensor fusion and structural diagnostics.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.17 no.3 s.120
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• pp.264-273
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• 2007

A smart panel with structural sensors and actuators for minimizing noise radiation or transmission is described in the paper with the concept of active structural acoustical control. The sensors and actuators are both quadratically shaped piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) Polymer films to implement a volume velocity sensor and uniform force actuator respectively. They are collocated on either side of the panel to take advantage of direct velocity feedback(DVFB) strategy, which can guarantee a robust stability and high performance as long as the sensor-actuator response is strictly positive real(SPR). However, the measured sensor-actuator response of the panel showed unexpected result with non-SPR property. In the paper, the reason of the non-SPR property is investigated by theoretical analysis, computer simulation and experimental verification. The investigation reveals that the arrangement of collocated piezoelectric PVDF sensor and actuator pair on a panel is not relevant to get a high feedback gain and good performance with DVFB strategy.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.23-42
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• 2009

In order to reduce vibration or to control shape of structures made of metal or composites, piezoelectric materials have been extensively used since their discovery in 1880's. A recent trend is also seen to apply piezoelectric materials to flexible structures made of rubber-like materials. In this paper a non-linear finite element model using updated Lagrangian (UL) approach has been developed for static analysis of rubber-elastic material with surface-bonded piezoelectric patches. A compressible stain energy function has been used for modeling the rubber as hyperelastic material. For formulation of the nonlinear finite element model a twenty-node brick element is used. Four degrees of freedom u, v and w and electrical potential ${\varphi}$ per node are considered as the field variables. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) patches are applied as sensors/actuators or sensors and actuators. The present model has been applied to bimorph PVDF cantilever beam to validate the formulation. It is then applied to study the smart rubber components under different boundary and loading conditions. The results predicted by the present formulation are compared with the analytical solutions as well as the available published results. Some results are given as new ones as no published solutions available in the literatures to the best of the authors' knowledge.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1254-1258
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• 2007

Electro-active polymer (EAP), one of the smart materials, is a new alternative offering ultra-precise movements and bio-compatibility. We present the results of the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a fabricated diaphragm-type polymer actuator using segmented polyurethane(SPU). This paper illustrates the relationship between the elastic modulus and maximum deflection as a key property of the Maxwell stress effect and also presents the relationship between the dielectric constant and maximum deflection as a key property of the electrostriction effect, especially in polymer actuators using SPU. A diaphragm-type actuator was used to induce an equation of the vertically distributed load by using a fully clamped circular plate as the boundary condition. To verify the equation, the results were compared to the data measured from load cell. In the near future, a low-cost check valves and bio-robot can be applied by its actuators.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-60
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• 2016

In this paper an electromechanically coupled isogeometric finite element is utilized to analyse Lamb wave excitation with piezoceramic actuators. An effective actuator design reduces the energy needed for Lamb wave excitation, which is beneficial if a structural health monitoring system should be applied for a structure. For a better understanding of the actuator behavior the piezoeceramics are studied both free and bonded at a structure. The numerical part of the analysis is performed utilizing isogeometric finite elements. To obtain the optimal performance for the numerical analysis the effect of k-refinement of the isogeometric element with respect to the convergence is studied and discussed. The optimal numerical setup with the best convergence rate is proposed and is validated with free piezoeceramic actuators. The validated model is then utilized to study the impact of actuator shape and adhesive bondline effect to the wave amplitude. The study shows that simplified analytical equations do not predict the optimal excitation frequencies for all piezoceramic designs accurately.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.725-742
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• 2016

This paper is focused on stiffness ratio effect and a new method to specify the best pattern of piezoelectric patches placement around a hole in a plate under tension to reduce the stress concentration factor. To investigate the stiffness ratio effect, some different values greater and less than unity are considered. Then a python code is developed by using particle swarm optimization algorithm to specify the best locations of piezoelectric actuators around the hole for each stiffness ratio. The results show that, there is a line called "reference line" for each plate with a hole under tension, which can guide the location of actuator patches in plate to have the maximum stress concentration reduction. The reference line also specifies that actuators should be located horizontally or vertically. This reference line is located at an angle of about 65 degrees from the stress line in plate. Finally two experimental tests for two different locations of the patches with various voltages are carried out for validation of the results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.476-481
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• 2001

This research is concerned with development of the active vibration absorber using piezoelectric actuators. This active isolation system consists of a-pairs of PZT actuators bonded on a S-shaped aluminum plate and the passive damping material. The active system is connected to the passive system in series. In this paper, one of the popular control techniques which have been successfully applied to the smart structure is the Positive Position Feedback(PPF) control. The digital PPF control lows downloaded to the DSP chip and a main program, which runs SISO PPF algorithm. The structure and dynamic characteristics of the proposed active vibration isolation system and described in detail. To demonstate the effectiveness of the active vibration control, the PPF controller is first employed. Experimental results show that the active vibration isolation is possible by means of the proposed system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.303-311
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• 2012

The possibility of suppressing critical speeds by using electromagnetic actuators (EMAs) is assessed experimentally in this paper. The system studied is composed of a horizontal flexible shaft supported by two ball bearings at one end and one roller bearing that is located in a squirrel cage at the other end. Four identical EMAs supplied with constant current are utilized. The EMAs associated to the squirrel cage constitutes the hybrid bearing. Results obtained, show that the constant current, when applied to the EMAs, produces a shift of the first critical speed toward lower values. Moreover, the application of constant current for a speed interval around the critical speed enables a smooth run-up or run-down without crossing any resonance.