Special Sessions & Mini-Symposia

Special sessions (SS), on projects, clusters or networks, and mini-symposia (MS), with possible keynote lectures proposed by MS organizers, on research or/and industrial hot topics will be organized by international scientific committee members and experts in smart materials and structures research fields.

SS01 : Innovation and Obsolescence: Challenges for Industry of the Future

Organizers : Simon Bolton, Edge Hill University (UK) & Marc Zolghadri, SUPMECA (France).

Innovation and obsolescence are both rapidly becoming strategic priorities, but there is a large gap between their perceived importance and the effectiveness of approaches used to support innovation driven obsolescence. Companies and organizations look constantly to be more innovative by offering smarter products and services to the evolving needs and requirements of customers. The ability to nurture innovation depends on whether the company has the organizational capabilities to do so.
Introducing technologically innovative products and services to the market increasingly requires organizations to simultaneously considering two goals: (1) how to maximize their value and (2) how to minimize the obsolescence risks. Currently it could be argued that the quest for innovation is potentially generating increased obsolescence.
Obsolescence is now a potential inevitable consequence of ill-considered innovation activities, resulting in obsolescence management being performed reactively rather than proactively. Reactive management decisions look to limit the consequences of existing obsolescence during production or through-life support. Proactive management means being able to implement obsolescence resilience early in the product architecture. Coping with obsolescence necessitates innovation.
Innovation and obsolescence are therefore closely intertwined. Decision-makers and designers have to think of their interdependencies in a holistic way. Proactive obsolescence management techniques must consider innovation targets as a key driver. Innovation management has to assess the obsolescence risks to be fully profitable.

This special session looks to gather research works from both fields. The contributive works to this session could be theoretical or come from the ground experience. The session will be focused on the following issues, or any other related topics:

• Innovation management
• Innovation tools
• Obsolescence management
• Obsolescence forecast
• Innovation and obsolescence framework

MS01: Smart & Adaptive Engineering Structures

Organizers: Malte von Scheven (Institute for Structural Mechanics), Werner Sobek (Institute for Lightweight Structures & Conceptual Design), Oliver Sawodny (Institute for System Dynamics) & Peter Eberhard (Institute of Engineering & Computational Mechanics), University of Stuttgart, Germany.

In order to meet the requirements of tomorrow’s world, engineers and architects must design extremely efficient structures. Making engineering structures adaptive is a promising approach to reach that target. The load carrying efficiency of structures can be increased noticeably by the employment of sensors, actuators and control units. Hence, the active manipulation of the static and dynamic structural response (i.e. forces, deformations and vibrations) enables to reduce mass of engineering structures dramatically and to increase performance. This mini-symposium focusses on the adaptivity of structures in civil engineering and on load carrying structures in general. It is devoted to new approaches in the analysis and computational design of such structures including (but not limited to):

• Modelling and simulation
• Model order reduction
• Form finding and optimization
• Optimal strategies for sensor and actuator placement
• Active and passive control strategies
• Criteria for the evaluation of adaptive engineering structures

MS02: Identification, Control & Structural Health Monitoring of Civil Structures

Organizers: Álvaro Cunha & Carlos Moutinho, CONSTRUCT-ViBest, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal.

In last years, there has been a significant increase of Civil Structures equipped with dynamic monitoring and control systems. This is due to recent technologic advances associated to the interest of the scientific and technical community in observing and mitigating vibrations induced by different types of dynamic loads (e.g. earthquakes, wind, railway, roadway or pedestrian traffic, etc.), as well as of developing efficient tools for vibration based Structural Health Monitoring, using methods from system identification and operational modal analysis. In this context, this mini-symposium will be a forum of discussion where some of the most recent works and developments in this area will be presented.

MS03: Adaptive Mitigation of Dynamically Induced Structural Response

Organizers: Lukasz Jankowski and Przemyslaw Perlikowski, Lodz University of Technology, Poland. Jan Holnicki, Smart-Tech-Centre, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research-Polish Academy of Science, Poland.

This Mini-Symposium covers various approaches to mitigation of structural vibrations and impacts-type loads. An emphasis is on adaptive systems, adaptive control strategies and the related actuators. Such strategies involve smart structural adaptation to external excitations and vibration patterns. The adaptation might be implemented through a number of diverse physical mechanisms and smart materials, including magnetorheological fluids, TMDs, tuned inerters, piezoelectric actuators, etc. Theoretical as well as experimental contributions are welcome.

MS04: Health Monitoring of Advanced Composite Structures

Organizers: Wieslaw Ostachowicz, Pawel Kudela and Pawel Malinowski, Institute of Fluid Flow Machinery – Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland.

There is a growing increase in advanced composite materials application in many branches of industry. Advanced composites include sandwich structures (honeycomb, 3D–core), additively manufactured (3D printed), fabric reinforced composite laminates as well as carbon/glass fibre reinforced plastics and many more. They outperform metallic structures in many loading scenarios and applications. However, they still require monitoring due to a variety of defects which can arise during manufacturing and operation (delamination, cracks, debonding, barely visible impact damage, etc.) This session invites papers dealing with sensor technologies, signal processing, sensor networks and modelling of all aspects related to health monitoring of such structures.

MS05: Morphing Aircraft and Rotorcraft Systems

Organizer: Prof. Farhan Gandhi, Rosalind and John J. Redfern Jr. ’33 Endowed Chair in Aerospace Engineering, Aerospace Program Director, Director of the Center for Mobility with Vertical Lift (MOVE), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, USA

With the optimal geometry of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft varying substantially with operating condition, a fixed aircraft geometry can result in significant performance penalties over the operating regime. Conversely, the introduction of morphing capability allows near-optimal aircraft performance over diverse operating conditions. However, aircraft morphing has always faced a big challenge in that the morphing systems are required to be simultaneously rigid enough to withstand external loads (aerodynamic, centrifugal loads, etc.), and compliant enough to alleviate prohibitive actuation cost. For aerospace and related systems (for example, wind turbines), this symposium invites papers that address performance benefits associated with reconfiguration, innovative morphing strategies and actuation design, optimization and control. Both computational as well as prototype fabrication and demonstration studies are welcomed. Papers considering manufacturability, weight-penalty, and reliability of morphing systems are strongly encouraged.

MS06 : Spatial Control of Sound and Vibration

Organizers : Nazih Mechbal & Marc Rebillat, Arts et Métiers ParisTech (France), Euripedes Nóbrega, UNICAMP (Brasil) & Christian Bolzmacher, CEA (France).

In the foreseeable future, the adoption of multifunctional vehicle structure (MVS) will offer the potential to radically upgrade the abilities of vehicles in terms of ecological requirements emerging from the social and legal environment. Integrating vehicle structures with functional systems that monitor structural integrity and aging, change shape at local level, act as sound sources and tackle noise vibration harshness issues will eliminate many of the weight, volume, and signature penalties associated with the current approach of designing, manufacturing and maintaining vehicles and functional systems separately. Example of MVS is a Load-bearing Loudspeaker Structure (LLS) where structures are equipped with active elements such as piezoelectric elements that allow for sound spatialization and noise and vibration control.
The mini-symposium is devoted to new and promising integrated approaches that deal with MVSs and theirs following scientific and industrial issues:

• Vibro-acoustic modeling and simulation of multifunctional vehicle structures
• Model reduction and surrogate models for vibration and noise control
• Design of low energy sensors and actuators for multifunctional vehicle structures
• Surface vibration mitigation and 3D sound field reconstruction: spatial and local approaches
• Damage and Aging Tolerant Active Control

MS07 : Modelling and Design of Smart Composite Structures

Organizers : Aurelio Araujo and Filipa Moleiro. IDMEC, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.

Structural design technology, nowadays, is constantly challenged by the advances of composite and active materials science, leading to a new generation of optimized smart multifunctional composite structures. A better understanding of material characterization, high frequency vibration, wave propagation and, ultimately, optimization of these smart composite structures is crucial to ensure an accurate design and modelling of the next generation of devices and micro-structures. The aim of this Mini-Symposium is to bring together researchers working on simulation, optimization and testing of composite structures with integrated active elements (piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, electroactive, etc), acting as sensors and actuators, or also functionally graded structures. Applications to modern devices and structures are sought in energy harvesting (EH), micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), structural health monitoring (SHM), vibration control, among others.

MS08 : Advances in Non-linear Modeling of Smart Materials and Structures

Organizers: Alexander Humer, Johannes Kepler University – Linz and Michael Krommer, Technical University – Vienna, Austria.

Smart materials and their applications in smart structures display diverse non-linear effects, including physical and geometrical ones. These non-linearities range from the non-linear material response and hysteresis phenomena, e.g., of piezoelectric materials and shape memory alloys over thin-walled structures subjected to large deformation to the combination of both as, e.g., in finite strain problems of electro-active polymers. The mini-symposium focuses on the modeling of smart materials and structures within the framework of continuum theories of electro-magneto-thermo-mechanics and structural mechanics as well as advanced numerical methods used for the realization in simulation models. The mini-symposium welcomes contribution including (but not limited to):

• Constitutive modeling of smart materials: piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys, electro-active polymers, ferroelectric materials, etc.
• Structural theories for smart structures: beams, plates and shells
• Smart composites with embodied smart materials: Macro fiber composites, functionally graded materials, etc.
• Advanced numerical methods for smart materials and structures

MS09 : Functional Materials with Multiphysics Coupling and their Applications

Organizers : Tarak Ben Zineb (Université de Lorraine, CNRS France) & Wael Zaki (Khalifa University, UAE)

Functional materials find a variety of applications in areas as diverse as biomedical engineering, aeronautics, civil constructions and the automotive industry. In these areas, technology based on multifunctional materials can be found in the form of sensors, actuators, couplers, energy harvesters and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), to name a few. The physical mechanisms responsible for the remarkable properties of functional materials typically exhibit strong coupling, examples of which include thermomechanical coupling in shape memory alloys (SMAs), magneto-thermomechanical coupling in magnetic SMAs (MSMAs), electromechanical coupling induced by ferroelectric and ferroelastic domain switching in piezoelectric materials, etc.
This mini-symposium aims at bringing together leading scientists and industrials to discuss the latest developments and potential collaborations in the area of functional materials. Contributions relevant to functional materials are particularly welcome in the following topical areas:

• Multiphysics modeling and experimental characterization, including features such as strain localization, scale and size effects, and coupling between different mechanisms
• Numerical analysis and design of devices and components
• Additive manufacturing, including applications to origami and 4D printing
• Experimental and analytical investigation of damage and failure mechanisms, including fatigue and fracture
• Influence of the working environment, including such effects as oxidation and hydrogen embrittlement
• Design and fabrication of architected, porous and woven or knotted textiles
• Hybrid composites incorporating multifunctional constituents

MS10 : Vibration Mitigation through Electromechanical Couplings

Organizers : Boris Lossouarn, Le Cnam - Paris, France & Andrea Bergamini, Empa (Materials Science and Technology) - Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Purely mechanical treatments are the first choice to provide vibration reduction of dynamic systems. However, this approach sometimes fails to provide efficient damping solutions intended for integration into lightweight systems, such as rotating parts in the aerospace or the naval industry. Yet, electromechanical couplings, i.e. piezoelectric or electromagnetic, give a way to convert the mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy. This energy can then be stored and dissipated locally or even remotely through decentralized electronics. Couplings between electrical and mechanical domains thus offer new perspectives concerning the design of original dynamic responses of mechanical structures. This Mini-Symposium focuses on vibration reduction with passive or active techniques involving electromechanical energy conversion. Various types of contributions will be highlighted, from theory and numerical models to Lab experiments and industrial applications.

MS11 : Smart Design of Periodic Structures

Organizers : Christophe Droz & Olivier Bareille (Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France), Wim Desmet & Elke Deckers (KU Leuven, Belgium), Sergio de Rosa (University of Naples Federico II, Italy)

Improving the broadband vibroacoustic signatures and performances of lightweight structures is a crucial concern in modern transportation industry. H2020-VIPER (Vibroacoustics of Periodic Media) is a European Joint Doctorate network aimed at developing a new generation of vibroacoustic models, reduced multi-scale methods, relevant indicators and innovative materials and concepts, able to address the growing complexity of periodic waveguides and industrially-relevant structural metamaterials.
This mini-symposium welcomes the contributions dedicated to:

• Wave-based methods for periodic and multi-scale structures
• Vibroacoustic modelling based on unit-cell methods
• New periodic concepts for noise and vibration control
• Acoustic metamaterials, Auxetic structures and their manufacturing

MS12: Integrated Prognostic and Health Monitoring of Complex Aeronautical Structures

Organizers : Nazih Mechbal (Arts et Métiers ParisTech, France), Theodoros Loutas, (UPAT, Greece), Marc Rebillat (Arts et Métiers ParisTech, France), Dimitrios.Zarouchas (TU Delft, Netherlands).

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a structural condition assessment system using sensor technology and flight parameters that can potentially monitor airplane loads and structural damage. Aircraft structural life management requires the integration of design and analysis, materials behavior, structural testing, and knowledge of aircraft usage. However, diagnosing the damage state is only the first step in SHM. The second step of SHM is the prognostic step that tries to infer the remaining useful life of a structure. This mini-symposium is devoted to new and promising integrated and innovative Prognostic and Structural Health Monitoring (PSHM) approaches that try to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial deployment of SHM systems by combining diagnostic and prognostic.
The MS will focus on the following scientific and industrial issues:

• Hybrid physics-based and data-driven approach prognosis
• Baseline Free approaches for diagnostic and prognostic
• Hybrids sensor technologies and data fusion for structural health management
• Innovative algorithms and signal processing tools for PSHM
• PSHM strategies able to handle complex geometries representative or aeronautical structures

MS13 : Multifunctional Vibratory Energy Harvesters: Nonlinear Dynamics and Size Dependency

Organizers : Fehmi Najar, Tunisia Polytechnic School, University of Carthage (Tunisia) & Abdessattar Abdelkefi, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University (USA).

Vibratory Energy Harvesters (VEHs) use transduction mechanisms to convert ambient kinetic or wind energy into useful electricity for small size autonomous systems, such as those used in health monitoring applications. The objective of this mini-symposium (MS) is to get together researchers working on the design of VEHs including the theoretical approaches using linear and nonlinear vibrations, numerical models, and experimental analysis when considering various transduction mechanisms, such as piezoelectric, magneto-strictive, electrostatic, and electromagnetic. This MS also involves VEHs using beams, plates and other structures at the macro-, micro- or nano-scales and the possible size-dependency effects. Bulk, composite or thin film smart material can be used. Nonlinear aspects including bi-stability, chaos, and large bandwidth harvesters are also of interest.

MS14: Magnetorheological Fluids, Devices, and Integrated Adaptive Systems

Organizer: Norman Wereley, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland (USA).

Fundamental studies in the physics of magneto-rheology and magnetorheological materials and composites, chemistry of carrier fluids, matrices, and additives, as well as ferromagnetic particle synthesis and associated coatings. Use of magnetorheological materials, including fluids and elastomers, in energy absorbing elements to mitigate vibration and shock spectra for problems ranging from occupant and payload protection in air, sea, and ground vehicles; mine blast mitigation in sea and ground vehicles; adaptive energy absorbing landing gear systems, machinery and engine mounts, and other associated problems. Integrated systems incorporating sensors, energy absorbers and control systems to optimally mitigate vibration or shock spectra, or to augment stability of vehicle systems, or other applications.

MS15: Computational Methods for Smart Structures and Materials

Organizer: Sven Klinkel, Chair for Structural Analysis and Dynamics, RWTH-Aachen University (Germany).

Many devices for adaptive systems employ multi-functional materials. These materials take advantage of a thermo-mechanical, electro-mechanical, or magneto-mechanical material behavior. Smart structures make use of the coupled constitutive equations and are employed as sensor or actuator. In focus of the mini symposium are numerical methods for the analysis of smart structures and/or their underlying coupled material behavior. Phenomenological material models as well as multiscale approaches or nested homogenization concepts are welcome. The description of smart devices, which utilize ponderomotive forces for the coupling, are also in scope of the mini-symposium. Smart devices have often beam, plate or shell like structures, and consist out of different layers. These properties demand special numerical methods for a profound analysis. Computational methods that address higher order shear deformation theory or mixed methods for advanced structural analysis are highly welcome.