Structural healing

Intelligent structures that can sense damage, actively cancel out vibrations and even ‘heal’ themselves are usually associated with advanced military or aerospace projects. But, thanks to a number of highly promising research projects around the world, such systems are on the verge of finding their way into big civil structures such as buildings and bridges.

Later this month, under its Smart Materials and Related Structures initiative, the DTI will announce the recipients of £7m of funding. Project manager Dr Robert Quarshie, says that a large portion of this money will be aimed at technology that holds great promise for big civil structures. It could, he hopes, help kick-start a profitable new area for the UK’s economy.

‘The field of smart materials has hitherto only been seen in weapons and defence programmes,’ he said. ‘This funding will help build UK commercial capability and enable us to reap the benefits in more down-to-earth applications. If we are going to have an economy looking at the higher value end of products this is exactly the kind of technology we should be developing.’