What does FIM mean in UNCLASSIFIED

Functional Intelligent Materials are materials that possess physical properties or react in some way to changes in their environment. These materials typically contain embedded sensors, actuators, and computational elements that can be programmed to change their properties and adapt to changing conditions.

There are many types of functional intelligent materials including shape memory alloys, polymer gels, conductive polymers, and nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and nano-particles.

The potential uses of functional intelligent materials are vast. They could be applied in robotics, aerospace technology, medical devices, automotive components, consumer electronics and other fields requiring smart materials that can respond to changes in their environment or be programmed for a desired reaction.

To use functional intelligent materials you must first design the application you wish to create and then select the type of functional material best suited for it. Once you have chosen your material, you must program the embedded sensors and actuators so they interact with their environment and create the desired output.

The physical properties of functional intelligent materials may limit how they can be used since not all applications require the same levels of responsiveness or features. Additionally, these materials may not always provide the desired outcomes depending on external factors such as temperature or humidity.

Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) are a type of functionally intelligent material that can memorize its original shape after being deformed by external forces such as heat or pressure. When activated with an electrical signal this type of material will return to its original shape regardless of any deformations it has received prior to activation.

SMAs are composed from two different metallic elements which possess different crystal structures when heated or cooled at certain points in time; these structures cause them to revert back to their original shapes when triggered by an electrical signal. This process causes them to contract or expand depending on the current state they were in at the time of activation due to their different crystal structures at various temperatures. For example, when heated an SMA will expand while cooled it would contract into its pre-deformed shape thus allowing them to act as self-regulating components for automated systems like robots.

Polymer gel is a type of functional intelligent material that possesses sensing capabilities through its gel-like structure which can detect subtle changes in temperature or pressure while also acting as an energy absorber due to its ability to stretch when exposed to force without breaking apart like traditional polymers would when stretched too far. The main difference between polymer gel and other functionally intelligent materials is that it does not need any electrical stimulation because unlike SMAs it does not rely on crystalline structures but on its specific polymer matrix instead which can react autonomously without prompt by external sources like electricity for instance.

Conductive polymers are a special class of polymers capable of conducting electricity due their chemical makeup which includes special molecules called “dopants” added during synthesis that allow them behave like metals offering better control over conductivity than traditional metal wires but without sacrificing flexibility which makes them ideal candidates for fabricating electronic components as well as creating energy efficient devices since they consume less power than regular circuits.