Advancements and Challenges of Smart Materials in Aerospace: Applications, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects

Lyujia Gu

doi:10.54254/2755-2721/2025.22163

Research Article

Open access

Published on 21 April 2025

Download pdf

Gu,L. (2025). Advancements and Challenges of Smart Materials in Aerospace: Applications, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects. Applied and Computational Engineering,147,7-13.

Export citation

Advancements and Challenges of Smart Materials in Aerospace: Applications, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects

Lyujia Gu *^,1,

¹ School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2755-2721/2025.22163

Abstract

Smart materials are at the cutting edge of modern engineering. Their ability to respond dynamically to changes in the environment enables adaptive and efficient systems. The need in the aerospace industry for lighter, energy-efficient, and highly adaptive materials has driven further development and integration of smart materials into aircraft, spacecraft, and satellite structures. These materials have been applied to the development of morphing wings, vibration control systems, deployable components, and structural health monitoring and have greatly contributed to flight efficiency and reliability. However, they are not widely applied because of limitations, such as temperature sensitivity, fatigue resistance, low actuation force, and scalability issues in large-scale aerospace applications. The solution to these challenges is crucial for ensuring the long-term durability and safety of smart materials under extreme conditions in the aerospace industry. This study focuses on the development, mechanism application, and future development of the following three popular smart materials: Shape Memory Alloys, Piezoelectric Materials, and Electroactive Polymers. The strength of each material will be discussed together with its limitations and how it is being used in the transformation of engineering within the aerospace sector. It highlights how smart materials have increasingly become active players in providing adaptive, sustainable, and high-performance aerospace systems, and critically reviews challenges from smart materials that are faced by real-world aerospace applications, with their potential solution and long-term viability.

Keywords

Smart materials, SMAs, EAPs, Piezoelectric Materials

View pdf

References

[1]. Susmita Kamila (2013). Introduction, Classification and Applications of Smart Materials: An Overview. Retrieved from https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajassp.2013.876.880

[2]. Costanza, G., & Tata, M. E. (2020). Shape Memory Alloys for Aerospace, Recent Developments, and New Applications: A Short Review. Materials. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/8/1856

[3]. Wang, W., Xiang, Y., Yu, J., & Yang, L. (2023). Development and Prospect of Smart Materials and Structures for Aerospace Sensing Systems and Applications. Sensors. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1545

[4]. Vo, T. V. K., Lubecki, T. M., Chow, W. T., Gupta, A., & Li, K. H. H. (2021). Large-Scale Piezoelectric-Based Systems for More Electric Aircraft Applications. Micromachines. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/2/140

[5]. Komal Powar, Prasad Vengurlekar (2018) APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROACTIVE POLYMER IN ELECTRONICS AND MECHATRONICS. Retrieved from https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper/APPLICATIONS-OF-ELECTROACTIVE-POLYMER-IN-ELECTRONICS-AND-MECHATRONICS.pdf

[6]. M Balasubramanian, R Srimath, L Vignesh and S Rajesh (2021) Application of shape memory alloys in engineering – A review. Retrieved from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2054/1/012078

[7]. Rocha, Helena & Semprimoschnig, Christopher & Nunes, J.P. (2021). Sensors for process and structural health monitoring of aerospace composites: A review. Engineering Structures. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350624256_Sensors_for_process_and_structural_health_monitoring_of_aerospace_composites_A_review

[8]. S. E. Prasad, D. F. Waechter, R. G. Blacow, H. W. King, and Y. Yaman (2005). Application of Piezoelectrics to Smart Structures. Retrieved from Application of Piezoelectrics to Smart Structures

[9]. Mehaan Mehra (2024). Smart Materials And Their Applications In Aerospace Engineering. Retrieved from https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jmce/papers/vol21-issue6/Ser-1/D2106012426.pdf

[10]. Bashir, Musavir & Rajendran, Parvathy. (2018). A review on electroactive polymers development for aerospace applications. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326734422_A_review_on_electroactive_polymers_development_for_aerospace_applications

Cite this article

Gu,L. (2025). Advancements and Challenges of Smart Materials in Aerospace: Applications, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects. Applied and Computational Engineering,147,7-13.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Mechatronics and Smart Systems

Conference website: https://www.confmss.org/

ISBN：978-1-80590-055-9(Print) / 978-1-80590-056-6(Online)

Conference date: 16 June 2025

Editor：Mian Umer Shafiq

Series: Applied and Computational Engineering

Volume number: Vol.147

ISSN：2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).