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Many industrial and commercial sectors are made up of separate, relatively small components: aerospace and ground transport, for example. In such applications, truly smart materials systems (SMS) are defined as those that respond autonomously to changes in their operating conditions. That is, they detect the onset of “illness” and take steps to effect a cure. In contrast, the electric power industry is a vast, interconnected enterprise, not a collection of individual entities. It is a far-flung grid, fed and drained continuously at variable rates. SMS must be consistent with this character: owing to the extent of the grid and the way it operates, just detecting illness and determining its location constitutes smartness. Moreover, users of electricity expect reliability everywhere the grid reaches, so avoiding failures (outages) is paramount. Thus, distributed SMS are often required to achieve reliability. Some other sectors (e.g., highways) also will rely on distributed SMS, but in electricity systems the SMS must function under more hostile conditions of temperature, pressure, aggressive chemicals, and especially, intense electric and/or magnetic fields. Early detection of deviations or trouble is vital. In a sense, successful performances of SMS in the power industry equates to buying time for a rational response. Whatever else they might do by way of autonomous responses (derating a unit, eliminating an ailing component from a redundant set, etc.), the crucial action for SMS in electricity systems is to notify a central authority about an (impending) illness and where that illness is. Although investment in SMS research by the power industry has been substantial, utilization of SMS within the industry is still in the early stages. There is little doubt, however, that the influence of SMS will be profound in the future. This article discussed where smart materials can be used in the power production process and challenges awaiting smart materials solutions. Keywords: Electric power industry; Overview; Economics; Environment; Size; Smart sensors; Thermal plant environment; Electricity systems environment; Smart actuators; Smart sensors; Challenges |
