Do the terms "smart material" and "intelligent material" mean the same thing?

Question

I'm finding it hard to find details on the net, any advice is greatly appreciated - I'm detailing nano-technology's relationship with "intelligent materials"

I thiunk an F-16 fly by wire would be an example of intelligence of a programming, this keeps an otherwise unstable design stable in flight. An "intelligent material" is a slightly different thing

Answer 1

No, they mean slightly different things, but with some overlap. A "smart material" refers to a material that has one or more property that can be altered through the application of an external stimulus. This can occur in naturally occuring materials: piezoelectric materials such as quartz evolve stresses (and accordingly, strain) in response to an applied voltage, or substances that change their color in environments with different pH values (halochromism) and can therefore be used as pH indicators. Smart materials can also be engineered. LCD displays are chromogenic (it changes color is response to electrical stimuli) and photochromic sunglasses darken in response to more intense light. Objects made from shape memory alloys take on different physical shapes at different temperatures.

"Intelligent material" is a less specific term. A material called d3o is used to make clothes where the material flows smoothly on the body during normal movement, but suddenly locks up and becomes stronger when it's in danger of tearing. They call this an intelligent material, but it's the same thing as a smart material. The material becomes stronger under stress. In some applications, as in the names of Virginia Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures and of the Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, it is used as an umbrella that includes smart materials along with self-reparing structures. Self-reparing structures are an example of the more common usage for the term "intelligent material," which usually describes a more complicated behavior than what is possible with smart materials. These include structures that actually repair themselves when damaged, or chemicals that move towards sunlight to harvest solar energy. The term "intelligent material" is often applied, it seems, to smart materials in applications that go beyond what a smart material can do alone.

Answer 2

Smart And Intelligent Materials

Answer 3

I think there is a line between innovative structures, and actively controlled structures. I think smart means innovative, but for a single task or situation, while intelligent means some sort of computer (analog or digital) control that allows a wide range of response effectiveness, and very good control.

An F-16 fly by wire isnt smart, but it is intelligent.
A self-healing polymer isnt intelligent, but in the right places it could be smart.