Smart Building Materials – Applications in Civil Engineering

Intelligent building materials, also known as smart materials, active substances, and future materials, are those that have the ability to respond to changes in their condition and respond to the environment changes they are exposed to and surrounding, in a beneficial, beneficial and controlled manner.

The inputs that cause change in the properties of smart materials may be in the form of mechanical / mechanical / electrical or magnetic / stress or changes in temperature, humidity, pH, and light.

Today its unique properties make it an essential subject in many fields of engineering and science. They are used in civil engineering projects and contribute to increasing performance, comfort and energy efficiency in the facility and make the modern world think and think about how to transform the urban world into an environmentally friendly because of the smart materials used in the facilities, they play in two directions to be environmentally friendly and to adapt to the surrounding conditions It provides comfort and luxury to the owners and users of the facilities, whether private or public.

Smart building materials and their applications

Based on the inputs and outputs, the types of smart materials are categorized as follows:

1. Memory alloy template (SMAs)

These materials have the ability to restore a predetermined shape or size when subjected to appropriate thermal changes. Memory alloy mold applications are found in new applications in civil and architectural engineering, specifically in the seismic protection of buildings.

The stress energy absorption is repeated without permanent deformation, to obtain a wide range of periodic behavior, to resist fatigue under large stress cycles, and because of its high durability and long-term reliability.

2. Magnetic materials

These materials undergo mechanical deformation commensurate with the square of the electric field, which indicates the quality of the material to the size of the change in response to an electric or magnetic field, and, on the contrary, produces a voltage upon expansion. These materials appear promising in applications ranging from pumps and valves to wind tunnels in space.

3. Piezoelectric materials

This is the ability to produce materials when entering surface stress. On the contrary, the material is subject to deformation (stress) when applying an electric field through it. When combined with a structural organ, a piezoelectric material generates an electric field in response to mechanical forces.

4. Electrical fluid:

They are colloidal suspensions that are subject to changes in viscosity when exposed to an electric field. These liquids are very sensitive and respond instantly to any change in the applied electric field. Find their application in shock absorbers.

5. Electrical materials:

These materials are adopted to change the properties of light transmission when applying voltage.

Read also: Smart Interfaces: Buildings that adapt to the climate

Building smart applications

1. Smart concrete (carbon fiber and concrete compound) used in smart structures is able to detect fine structural cracks / defects. Unlike traditional concrete, smart concrete has a higher capacity and enhanced strength. It can be used in electromagnetic shielding and for enhanced electrical conductivity of concrete. Loose concrete under loading and unloading process can lose its enhanced capacity and soon conductivity is restored, thus acting as a structural material as well as a sensor.

Smart concrete plays a vital role in constructing road pavements as a traffic sensor recorder, and it also melts snow on highways and airports during winter snowfall by passing a low voltage current through it.

2. Smart materials have applications in smart building design. Smart materials are used to control vibration, noise reduction, lighting, heat, safety and performance.
3. In building smart buildings, the use of smart materials is being used to control the environment, monitor health and construction.
4. In smart construction, it is used to transform the efficiency, comfort and safety of people and the firm’s fixed assets … thus raising performance and productivity.
5. Smart materials reduce the effects of earthquakes.
6. In maritime and rail transport applications for stress monitoring using integrated optical fiber sensors.

7- The use of smart materials allows building smart bridges, especially the remaining bridge with cables with a wider range to avoid increased exposure to vibrations caused by surrounding factors such as wind, rain or traffic. Thus, the structural structure requires less maintenance and the construction response can be monitored.

8. Smart materials are used in buildings to monitor civil engineering structures to assess their durability, ability and adaptability
9. Intelligent materials in buildings used to monitor the safety of bridges, dams, and offshore oil drilling towers where the optical fiber sensors included in buildings and installations are used to identify problem areas.

10- It can be used to rehabilitate concrete crushing when using a highly flexible smart material as reinforcement bars.

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