the investigation
of the kinematics and symmetry of crystals and of their defects; The network consists of eight teams, based at Antwerp, Berlin, Besançon, Leipzig, Oxford, Padova, Paris, and Roma. The teams comprise leading mathematicians, mechanists and materials scientists from six European countries, and join their strengths in the interdisciplinary effort to study phase transitions in crystalline solids and their application to the design of new materials and devices.
Technological advances in the new electronic, biomedical, environmental, transportation, and energy production systems increasingly rely on the development of new materials that can actively respond to environmental changes, and provide functions of sensing, processing, actuation and feed- back ('active' or 'smart' materials). Crystalline materials undergoing phase transitions, which cause significant changes of shape in response to changes of temperature, applied stresses or electromagnetic fields, are particularly important in this respect and have great innovation potential. However, the impact of much recent research about 'smart materials' technology has been somewhat dampened by traditional national and disciplinary boundaries. The participating teams, which have a strong previous experience of autonomous research, will join their activity across such boundaries, in order to enhance the European research activity in this area.
The scientific objectives of the network, both theoretical and experimental, include:
the investigation
of the kinematics and symmetry of crystals and of their defects;
the development
of appropriate constitutive relations for multiphase crystals;
the study of the
equations governing the equilibria and evolution of phase
transitions and of defects in a variety of imposed external
conditions;
the consequent
investigation of metastability, of hysteresis, of phase diagrams,
and of coherent and incoherent interfaces and microstructures;
the investigation
of the role of interfacial energy;
the development
of effective criteria for the design and synthesis of new
materials;
the development
of efficient numerical simulations and control codes for devices,
based on the results of the mathematical modelling;
the development
of experimental work on new materials and the close comparison of
theoretical and experimental results;
the development
of an adaptive shape memory aircraft wing and of a miniaturized
tentacle with shape-memory actuator wires.
The Network Coordinator is Prof. Mario Pitteri (Padova) (e-mail: pitteri@dmsa.unipd.it).
For general information on the TMR programme check www.cordis.lu/tmr/src/network1.htm.
Revised: Jan 25, 1999