European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                No a smart Golf clubs Are on the Way but. By Ivan Amato Washington Post i Magine Bridges that change colors if they weaken or flawless air plane wings that reconfigure themselves a continuously an automatically a to accommodate varying flying conditions. How about synthetic self repairing skin for robotic fingers that sense textures pressures and temperatures and even appear bruised when damaged or Chameleon camouflage coatings that shift their hues and patterns to melt in with changing surroundings How about a toy rubber Duck that transforms itself into another animal if the Bath water is too hot that is imagine human made materials that have some properties of living things a notably the ability to sense changes in themselves and their surroundings and then respond appropriately. At present such structures remain largely on the wish list. But a growing Community of researchers is determined to make them real. Take the mechanical Engineer Craig a. Rogers of Virginia polytechnic Institute and state University Vii in Blacksburg. Using sensitive and responsive materials he and his colleagues Are on their Way to creating inanimate objects with lifelike qualities a what Rogers Calls Quot a higher form of materials systems and  Quot the Crux of this whole concept is to mimic biological organisms Quot says Rogers director of Vii s smart materials and structures Laboratory. Despite some precocious breakthroughs the Field is so new that it still goes by a variety of names including Quot smart materials Quot Quot adaptive structures Quot and Quot intelligent  perhaps the term that ultimately catches on will come from the title of the newly launched quarterly devoted to the Field journal of intelligent material systems and structures. Members of this Multi disciplinary Field use both conventional and High tech materials in assemblies that sense internal and environmental conditions and when necessary self adjust to changes in those conditions. Already researchers Are developing a space structures that will Start out in a compact easy to shuttle form unfold into versatile space cranes once in orbit and have the ability to reconfigure their geometries to serve later As antennae or platforms for telescopes and other instruments. A Stealthy submarine skins that soak up sonar signals by sensing sound Waves and then generate precise reflection cancelling counter vibrations. A helicopter rotors that redistribute stresses on their Blades in response to changes in temperature moisture wind gusts or even Battlefield damage. A vibration and noise damping components for silencing loud factory equipment air plane Cabins and other unquiet environments. Smart structures Combine three types of components whose characteristics Are analogous to biological functions. Structural materials such As aluminium ceramics plastics or lightweight composites form the framework or Skeleton a \ materials tailor made to sense and Monitor changes in temperature pressure acidity and other chemical and physical conditions take on a role resembling a sensory nervous system and components called actuators feedback amplifier 0 incoming sonar wave strikes piezoelectric sensor generating a voltage pulse which is then fed to the amplifier. Possible uses for smart materials include a a Stealthy submarine skins and composite wings to control vibration in aircraft. Clone fee Aback Kyj amplifier processes the pulse and sends a voltage to the actuator causing it to contract. As the actuator contracts it acts like a wry soft or compliant material damping the reflected wave. Or fluid Cross Section at High magnification when subjected to electrical voltages the particles in electro Rheological fluids Are realigned making the fluid nearly As stiff As a solid. Arranged in alternating layers and controlled by a feedback system they could be used to Fine tune the flex of an air plane Wing. Source  journal of composite material expand contract Emit Light secrete chemicals or in some other Way serve As the structures motor or response systems. Researchers have begun embedding sensors or actuators within otherwise Ordinary slabs of Metal or composite materials a whose sole former purpose was to sit there in a Bridge building or vehicle without breaking apart a to create such things As Quot smart beams Quot that Are not nearly As stupid or passive As they look. V these designers Hope to boost the beams intelligence quotients by feeding signals from sensors into microprocessors which would interpret them and relay instructions to embedded actuators. One Way to do this takes advantage of a property called the piezoelectric effect. Some materials a including Quartz certain polymers and even human skin a generate an electric voltage when pressure is applied to them conversely they expand or contract when exposed to an electric Field. Researchers Hope to develop materials that learn How to respond and adapt to conditions that change on time Scales ranging from fractions of seconds to years. Quot you could imagine making an aircraft or some sort of vehicle that reconfigures itself in response to the Type of loading it might get Quot suggests Theodore g. Duclos of the lord corp. In Cary n.c., an International technology development firm. Duclos works on related projects that include so called Electr Rheological or fluids these substances change viscosity in the presence of electric Fields metamorphosing from free flowing liquids into pseudo solids depending on the strength of the electric Field. As a result they offer designers a kind of Quot dial in Quot rigidity. A materials scientist Robert e. Newn Harn and his Malchau a flow the. Washing i on f05t colleagues at Pennsylvania stale University in University Park Are making the first generation of smart ceramics. Quot we Are developing a family of electro Ceramic components that sense pressure or chemical changes in the environment and then make a motion change color or exude a chemical Quot Newnham says. Quot smart ceramics Aro like he human body in the sense that our eyes and our ears sense some change in our environment and then we do something with our legs or our arms to  Rogers cautions that terms such As Quot intelligent materials Quot tend to inspire unrealistic near term expectations and fascination with Novelty items for example Quot smart Quot Golf clubs with variable stiffness. Still plenty is on the Way. According to one informed estimate . Universities aerospace and defense contractors and government agencies such As Nasa will spend tens of millions of dollars this year alone on research into smart materials and structures. Nonetheless Many scientists worry that the japanese May dominate the cutting Edge of the new Field. In the United states investigations into intelligent materials and structures focus primarily on assembling smart systems using existing materials. But japanese researchers Are looking toward Brand new materials no matter who capitalizes on smart materials and structures the world is in for a change predicts Mukesh v. Gandhi a materials researcher of Michigan state University in East Lansing As the technological innovations reach industries ranging from aerospace engineering to Medicine to building construction to toy making he says Quot All aspects of our lives will be significantly touched Quot Ivan Avalo re a Mali Wilur at  nows from  this was Ada Plad Lor to Ltd  Post sunday july 15, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13