Smart Magnetic Composites (SMC)
Jerzy Kaleta, Daniel Lewandowski, Rafał Mech, Piotr Zajc · InTech eBooks · 2011
Introduction 1.1 Smart Magnetic CompositesSmart Magnetic Composites (SMC) belong to the wider group named Smart Magnetic Materials (SMM).Various properties of the SMM, involving viscosity, shape, rigidity, temperature or resistance -could be stimulated with a magnetic field.SMMs in turn, belong to the still wider group of materials called Smart Materials, SMART in short, where stimulation of properties is possible with the use of electrical or magnetic field, or heat.Nowadays, we assume that the level of dissemination of the Smart Materials is one of the measures of economy innovativeness in countries and regions.Manufacturing of Smart Materials is also stimulating development of basic research in the various cross effects.The key significance, both civil and military, have the already existing and forecasted applications of the Smart Magnetic Materials.We could specify here examples of an "intelligent" vibration damping in such stationary objects as buildings, bridges, pipelines or power networks.Equally significant field of the SMM utilisation is transport (automotive vehicles, trains, airplanes).The number of applications in medicine is growing, which could be exemplified by intelligent prostheses, remote surgery, new methods of neoplasm therapy or the magnetic "markers" of medicines.Very promising are the SMM group materials providing safety for cable transmitted data.Among the examples one could also indicate the development in new methods of non-destructive testing such as magnetovision.Within the last several years, a great interest in the use of SMMs in energy harvesting might be noticed.The listed advantages of SMMs are the reason for intensive research in many scientific institutes and industrial centers.Smart Magnetic Materials could be divided according to various criteria.One of the possible classifications distinguishes the following SMM types:• Materials of variable internal structure:-MagnetoRheological Fluids -MRF, -FeRroFluids -FRF, -Porous materials saturated with magnetorheological fluids -MagnetoRheological Composite -MRC, gels/greases/... filled with ferromagnetic material powder, -fluids with powdered magnetocaloric materials.• Materials of fixed internal structure:solid magnetostrictive materials, including those with giant magnetostriction -Giant Magnetostrictive Materials -GMMs, 24 www.intechopen.com 2 Composite Materials elastomers filled with ferromagnetic material powders (e.g.carbonyl iron, GMM or their combination), polymers on the epoxy resin base containing powdered ferromagnetic materials, -solid magnetocaloric materials.Below, the following Smart Magnetic Composites have been discussed in detail:• Composites of porous matrix filled with magnetorheological fluid (MagnetoRheological Composites -MRC),• MagnetoRheological Elastomers -MRE, known also as Magneto-Active Elastomers -MAE),• Composites containing powdered material of giant magnetostriction (Giant Magnetostrictive Materials composites -GMMc).In each of the above cases the manufacturing technologies, ways of stimulating with magnetic field, methodology of research and properties identification as well as application examples, have been discussed.The material has been enriched with literature overview and results of the Authors' own research.2. Magnetorheological composites -porous materials saturated with magnetorheological fluids 476 Metal, Ceramic and Polymeric Composites for Various Uses www.intechopen.