The Smart Technology Centre (SMART-TECH) operates at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Smart technologies compose a relatively new, dynamically developing, interdisciplinary research field, closely linked to Hi-Tech and encompassing a wide spectrum of engineering applications. The term smart technologies also coincides with another term mechatronics, coming from the combination of mechanics and electronics. The activity of the SMART-TECH Centre is mainly motivated by the issues of safety and integrity of engineering systems with the focus on the following areas:
  • intelligent materials (e.g. Piezo-Electrics, Shape Memory Alloys, Magneto-Rheological Fluids),
  • actuators (devices based on active materials and so-called MEMS: Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems),
  • acoustic-electronic systems for damage detection and identification,
  • sensors and structural observability,
  • control systems,
  • active materials with adaptively controlled microstructures,
  • nano-materials,
  • structural control applications (various types of structures equipped with controlled devices to get a synergetic effect,
  • significantly improving the overall structural performance, e.g. vibration, deformation, stress or shape control),
  • software tools for design of adaptive structures.
Examples of challenging SMART-TECH problems are the following:
  • design of safe structures, self-adaptive to unpredictable critical conditions (e.g. earthquake, impact or explosion) by applying adaptively controlled structural fuses,
  • design and optimal location of structural fuses and active materials with adaptively controlled microstructures and high potential of impact energy absorption for adaptive crashworthiness applications,
  • distributed control of intelligent materials for vibration and noise reduction,
  • modelling of intelligent systems and development of efficient software tools for design of smart structures and computer simulation of their response,
  • modelling of nano-materials and development of the corresponding software tools,
  • development of new techniques for damage detection and identification.