Functional materials with multiphysics coupling and their applications.

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 minisymposium 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: Additive manufacturing, including applications to origami and 4D printing; 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; 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 cellular, auxetic, porous functional materials and woven or knotted functional textiles; Elasto-caloric materials and their applications; Hybrid composites incorporating multifunctional constituents.