Search

Periodical maintenance NDE-based inspections are today of a general acceptance for almost all complex technological structures. Nevertheless, the idea that the integrated and continuous sensing techniques can optimize the operating conditions is now in progress. Different aspects of this evolution towards health monitoring are discussed in relation with the smart materials concept through a non-exhaustive review of some realizations or experiences essentially focused on the field of sensitive materials. Piezoelectric implant technique and in situ electric resistance measurements on carbon epoxy composites are presented with more details. Finally, by extension, it seems useful to introduce the adaptive materials-based new concept of 'health saving'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present experimental and theoretical results on intrusion-extrusion cycles of water in hydrophobic mesoporous materials, characterized by independent cylindrical pores. The intrusion, which takes place above the bulk saturation pressure, can be well described using a macroscopic capillary model. Once the material is saturated with water, extrusion takes place upon reduction of the externally applied pressure. Our results for the extrusion pressure can only be understood by assuming that the limiting extrusion mechanism is the nucleation of a vapor bubble inside the pores. A comparison of calculated and experimental nucleation pressures shows that a proper inclusion of line tension effects is necessary to account for the observed values of nucleation barriers. Negative line tensions of order 10[sup -11] J m[sup -1] are found for our system, in reasonable agreement with other experimental estimates of this quantity. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]