Variable stiffness adaptive structures utilizing hydraulically pressurized flexible matrix composites with valve control

TL;DR: In this article, a flexible matrix composite (FMC) skin is proposed as a possible solution for aircraft wing deformation and low stiffness in one direction, which allows the skin to undergo large strain at low energy cost.

TL;DR: It has been shown that small deviations from the minimum mass optimum can be tolerated, but large variations could be expected to produce a punitive and rapidly increasing mass penalty.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a new construction method designed to greatly increase the number of actuation cycles of pneumatic artificial muscle actuators, which is a class of pneumatically driven actuators that are remarkable for their simplicity, lightweight and excellent performance.

TL;DR: In this article, a kind of morphing skin embedded with pneumatic muscle fibers is proposed from the bionics perspective, and their output force is tested with internal air pressure varying from 0 to 0.4 MPa.

TL;DR: Shape memory alloys (SMAs) as discussed by the authors are metallic materials with great potential to enhance civil engineering structures, such as damping, active vibration control and prestressing or posttensioning of structures with fibres and tendons.

TL;DR: In this paper, the Active Variable Stiffness (AVS) system is proposed as a seismic response control system, which actively controls structural characteristics, such as stiffness of a building, to establish a non-resonant state against earthquake excitations, thus suppressing the building's response.

TL;DR: Significant changes have occurred in materials science, including increasing demands on life extensions, and the reliability and exploitability of components, materials, and structures as discussed by the authors, and these changes provide smart technologies with excellent application opportunities in aerospace, civil and electrical engineering, transportation, manufacturing, etc.