2000 Volume 12 Issue 3 Pages 153-156
Brevity is the soul of future in technology. We have to avoid spaghetti syndromes of modern technology. For this purpose intelligent materials must be developed. Yanagida proposes ken-materilas to meet the requirement for the future technology. Authorities have to find novel concepts to make technology more easily understood to avoid unnecessary confusion. Integration is an important key word. Improvement of structural reliability and capability of self-damage monitoring may be achieved if we design so beforehand. This opens a new field of materials design in composite materials. Typical case is a concrete structure reinforced by CFGFRP (carbon fiber and glass fiber co-reinforced plastic) bars. This may be extended to diagnose damage of fragile materials such as ceramics used for heat engine component and concrete piles. R & D is conducted by Ken-materials Research Consortium led by Yanagida.
