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Procedía - Social and Behavioral Sciences 181 (2015) 79 - 88
3rd International Conference on Leadership, Technology and Innovation Management
From the classical scheme to a smart/functional materials system: A generic transformation of advanced materials technologies
Tank Baykara
Dogu§ University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Acibadem, Kadiköy, 34722, Istanbul, Türkiye
Abstract
Starting with the last quarter of the 19th Century until recent modern times, rapidly accelerating technological transformations and developments result in better and superior materials and cause improvements in almost every fields of technology In this regard, materials technologies are also considered to be one of the major pillars and backbones of modern society with other generic fields such as energy, information-communication technologies and biotechnologies. Starting with the 21st Century, a new era for advanced materials has emerged and greatly influenced by the market dynamics and intense competition from new entries (e.g China and other new competitor countries). Despite the fact of regularly developing new technical and scientific achievements and improvements, there is a lack of research in technology and innovation management of advanced materials covering its newly forming characteristics in diverse and multi-sectoral markets. The qualitative findings and results of selected 12 contracted projects on advanced composite materials indicate the emerging rise of collaborative networking and cooperative activites within variety of sectors. It was found that the predominant connections among such activities are with universities, raw materials suppliers, service-providing companies for testing, analysis, characterization and variety of treatments (thermal, mechanical and chemical) along with in- house collaborations for processing and applications. Such findings should be considered new and emerging since the market is very well known for its intensely competitive environment and sensitivity for any spillovers of information of any kind.
Key Words: Advanced Materials; Collaborative networking; R&D; R&I:Innovation; Smart and functional materials
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-NDlicense (http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-reviewunderresponsibilityof UluslararasiStratejik YonetimveYoneticiler Dernegi (usyyd) (International Strategic Management and Managers Association).
1. Introduction
Starting with the last quarter of the 19th Century until recent modern times, rapidly accelerating technological transformations and developments result in better and superior materials, called "Advanced Materials" and cause improvements in almost every fields of technology. In this regard, "Advanced Materials" has become one of the
Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tank Baykara; Tel: 90 216 544 5555 x1662; E-mail: tbaykara@dogus.edu.tr
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Uluslararasi Stratejik Yönetim veYöneticiler Dernegi (usyyd) (International Strategic Management and Managers Association). doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.868
important generic technological fields (Kaounides, 1991). A general description of advanced materials, in its classical context can be outlined as follows (Kuban, 1996; Baykara, 1998): "Materials that are entered the world market in the second half of the 20th Century with considerable scale in the form of 'Advanced Ceramics, Polymers, Metals and Composites' with high purity, high technical performance and high information content with increasing integral function and variety and high added-values". Based on this definition, the classification of advanced materials can be as follows (Figure 1):
1. Advanced Metallic Materials
2. Advanced Ceramics
3. Advanced Polymers
4. Composites: Polymer based composites; Metal matrix composites; Ceramic matrix composites.
Metals
Ceramic matrix composites
Figure 1. Classical scheme for advanced materials' classification
In this regard, materials technologies are also considered to be one of the major pillars and backbones of modern society with other fields, energy, biotechnology and information & communication technologies. Due to such characteristics and strong impacts to other technological fields, advanced materials are considered to be one of the generic technologies as well. In its classical scheme represented within the corners of a triangle (metals, ceramics and polymers) and composites along the side lines, advanced materials and its multi-technological & multi-sectoral characteristics had unique norms and characteristics such as (Lastres, 1994):
• Research and development (R & D) intensive;
• Generic structure;
• Multi-disciplinary and multi-technological;
• High potential of cumulative effects;
• High cost and high risk investment requirement;
• Accelerating market potantial;
• Comparatively long term for development projects;
• Very intense international competition.
Starting with the 21 Century, a new era for advanced materials has emerged and greatly influenced by the market dynamics and intense competition from new entries (e.g China and other new competitor countries). Important characteristics of new advanced materials are particularly focused on their technical functions such as mechanical, electrical, optical, chemical and other variety of properties. For many high performance applications, such unique properties along with others (smartness, eco-friendliness, light weight, high strength and durability etc.) advanced materials lead to very high added value products essential for long term profitability and market superiority for firms operating in various sectors such as machinery, manufacturing, microelectronics, transport, automotive, energy and others (UK Technology Strategy Board, 2008-2011) . Rapid advancement of technologies with new scientific results and findings has started to shift advanced materials
technologies from its classical scheme towards more multi-functional and multi variant characteristics such as physical, mechanical, chemical, electrical, optical and others (Deloitte, 2012). A general classification of materials as represented within the corner of a triangle, metals, ceramics, polymers and composites are loosing its meaning as the evolving market structures require combined and enhanced properties of variety of materials functioning within a system's integral structure (Maine, 2006). Newly formed and continously evolving norms and characteristics of advanced materials will be outlined along with other parallel developments such as innovation models and mechanisms, extensive collaboration through networking. In this presentation, we will also adress these issues from the newly forming unique characteristics of advanced materials and a literature review both on the classical and newly forming advanced materials scheme will be outlined. Thereafter, based upon the findings of the state funded programme in advanced composites conducted within a series of contracted projects during 2005-2011 will be elaborated and qualitative assessments will be discussed based upon the arguments outlined for the new paradigm of advanced materials technologies.
2. A Generic Transformation of Advanced Materials Technologies
Key challenges of the 21 Century in critical fields of energy, environment, defense & homeland security, healthcare, transport, microelectronics, nanotechnology, space & aviation and others are demanding high performance and enhaced properties from advanced materials. In this sense, an extensive transformation of advanced materials from the classical scheme represented on the corners and sides of a triangle (Figure 1) indicating a plane and simple classification as metals, ceramics, polymers and composites should be changed to a newly formed, complex and dynamic system. Such transformation of new generation advanced materials system may have the following attributes (Deloitte, 2012; BMBF-Germany, 2010; Rooney, 2000):
• High value-added products;
• Multidisciplinary (physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, biology, mechanical, electrical-electronical engineering and others);
• Multitechnological (biosciences, micro-, nano-electronics, photonics, mechatronics, machinery and others)
• Multisectoral (energy, transport, medical-healthcare, sports, food packaging, space & aviation, civil engineering and others)
• Multi-functionality (mechanical, physical, chemical, electrical and others);
• Intelligence and smartness.
In its historical context, materials industry was largely based on substitution of natural materials with synthetic, man-made materials during the first half of the 20th Century (e.g., leather by polymeric materials, cotton by synthetic fibers, wood by iron-steel etc.). In the second half of the previous century, materials technologies has shifted from substitution to custom-made materials inquired by the industry (e.g. electronic ceramics for microelectronics, polycarbonate for compact discs etc.). This shift greatly exploited scientific and technical advances following the 2nd World War and brought tremendous advantage and improvement for newly rising industries such as microelectronics, communication, machinery, transport, space & aviation and others. Other than scientific and technological advances in design, processing, production and quality, governmental policies, market conditions and societal needs and requirements were also effective for shaping and leading advanced materials technologies forward to reach 21st Century (Bauer, 2012).
In this classical approach for manufacturing of materials, design, processing, functions and other factors were outlined in a lineer thinking of a series of steps such as, structure; process; properties and performance (Dobrzanski, 2006). A typical engineering design criteria based on such steps can be schematically shown in Figure 2.
Properties
Structure
Performance
Process
Figure 2. Relationship within the design of materials
Starting with the late 90s and during the dawn of the new century, emerging scientific and technical advances such as high capacity computational modelling of atoms and molecules to design and tailor new and original compounds for sophisticated functions, rapid advancement of nanosciences and nanotechnologies along with the development of highly capable and effective analytical instruments for testing, analysis and characterization of micro-, nanostructures (e.g. ultrahigh resolution electron microscopes) lead to a new era for advanced materials technologies. Such a large shift within the materials technology is demonstrated in Figure 3.
This brings newly formed and evolving norms and characteristics for advanced materials such as follows:
• Rapidly decreasing size of materials leading nano-structured materials within atomic / molecular dimensions; it should be noted that nanosciences at atomic/molecular level bring unusual novel properties and changing characteristics.
• Based on these developments, processing, development, testing and fabrication are also getting into the nano level science and technology which bring radical changes in almost whole aspects of materials engineering.
• Accelarating accumulation of knowledge is leading new and quantum-based data storage, communication and diffusion of new techniques and capabilities. New analytical techniques (e.g. high resolution electron microscopy techniques and other advanced imaging and manipulation techniques) and methods in testing, analysis and characterization of materials' properties cause in-depth understanding of atomic and molecular interactions leading new and novel materials synthesis.
• Already existing characteristics of multi-disciplinarity and multi-technological features lead to new emerging fields such as bio-materials, magneto-optical materials, nano-materials, smart and intelligent materials and many others.
Therefore, previous scheme of classification and relationship among some factors of design shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 are not valid anymore for advanced materials technologies. New era is strongly demanding complex and dynamic attributes such as innovation and creativity, rapid deployment and commercialization, extensive collaboration in R & D which is becoming R & I (innovation), efficient processing techniques for high quality products (von der Gracht, 2013). These aspects should also be adressed for the upcoming era of new advanced materials technologies.
Figure 3. New relationship within the design of novel materials for 21st century
3. New Characteristics of Advanced Materials Technologies
New advanced materials technologies have been considered as key drivers for profitability and growth in
21 Century's fast changing environments and severe competiton with the new entrants such as China, India and other Asian and Latin American countries (Brasil, Mexico) (Cheng, 2008; Nakagawa, 2009). Today's high risk, and uncertain market circumstances is demanding new and significantly different novel characteristics. Firstly, innovation and creativity in advanced materials technologies are becoming major cornerstones for almost any organizations. In this regard, collaborative networking in all levels of industrial operations is emerging as a new paradigm for advanced materials (van der Valk, et al 2011). Other than scientific and technological advances in design, processing, production and quality, governmental policies, market conditions and societal needs and requirements are also effective for shaping and leading advanced materials technologies forward (Bauer 2011). R & D intense environment is shifting towards more on R & I (innovation) based operations and R & I is becoming a fundamental economical activity within organizations. It should be noted that more than half of all technical innovations in practically all technology sectors and branches of industry based upon the properties of the materials in use in varying degrees (Ehrenfried, 2012). A new understanding of mechanisms within the market, organization, processes is getting more important such as non-lineer perceptions and chaotic system thinking. In this regard, more combinatorial (and hybrid) materials systems are modelled through sophisticated software programmes and simulation techniques leading to tailored properties upon customers' demands.
The mechanism of innovation and commercialization for advanced materials have a complex and dynamic nature and couldn't be categorized in one of the following models, "market pull" or "technology push" or "technology-market matching" mechanisms. New molecules designed through complex computational simulations and recent hybrid processing techniques are highly advanced and unknown for markets and customers. In this regard, a plane "market piull" mechanism is hard to be operative in many instances. "Technology push" mechanism has difficulties in commercialization of any innovative ideas due to high risk, uncertainties and many other complexities. In this mechanism, high cost and extended duration of research, development and time lag for any product to reach the market are also considered as barriers. Based upon these limitations and problems, the "Technology-market matching (coupling)" mechanism has a very high potential in this respect to find new business models and collaborative results in commercialization (Maine, 2005). Particularly, this mechanism through collaborative networking (local, regional and global) may play a major role for innovative products and processes in materials to reach the market (Maine 2006). A model based upon a typical value-chain for advanced materials is proposed schematically in Figure 4.
R & D - R & I
Training
Testing, Analysis
Technology Push
v\ 7 <> «
Raw Materials \ Processing Primary Production \ Fabrication
After Sales Services
Design
Recycling Standarts
Regulation
Technology & Market Matching
Market Pull
NETWORKS
Figure 4. Advanced materials value chain and innovation & commercialization mechanisms
Collaborations through networking, new business models, new venture capital enterprises, international & global partnership, new ideas such as open innovation networks are all emerging forms and shapes of the advanced materials technologies all over the World (Deloitte 2012; Crabbe, 2012). As shown in Figure 4, the whole system of advanced materials should be generated and implemented through innovation networks of interacting and collaborating organizations and individiuals. Based upon these evaluations, one may conclude that the system of innovation and any advanced materials product for reaching to market is functioning in a complex and dynamic manner of combinatory mechanisms of "technology push", "market pull" and "technology-market matching (coupling)".
In the following section, the findings of a series R & D projects conducted and completed within the last five years on high technology composites are assessed according to this model. Typical features of newly advanced properties and novel characteristics of advanced materials within this changing environment will be outlined.
4. Methodology & Findings
The data for analysing the context of new advanced materials system outlined in Figure 4 was originally gathered from a series of research and development projects on advanced composites conducted in between 2006-2011. These contracted projects were the outcomes of a large state funded program on composites. A complete infrastructural background for processing, shaping, treatment and testing was provided through this program. The program defined the composites differing from its already known classification and description to a new level of combining a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, plastics and classical composites (metal matrix, ceramic matrix, polymer matrix) and their processing techniques including novel hybrid formation via specific bonding and interface engineering techniques. Selected 12 (twelve) projects were completed in the Materials Institute of leading RTO of Turkey, TUBITAK (Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council) MRC (Marmara Research Center). Table 1 shows the types and characteristics of these projects.
Objectives of the projects have varying purposes ranging from particular-specific applications, component development, processing to general applications. Such a wide range is a typical characteristics of composites due to their flexible natures of light weight, high strength, durability, corrosion resistance and toughness. Thorough testing and characterization as one of the major steps in projects were demanded by the customers for certain qualifications and in some projects novel testing procedures were designed for the measurements of special properties, features and functions for the developed end products. Inovative ideas by the service
providing sub-contractors, universities, suppliers were also inquired and exploited in such cases for such particular testing and performance measurements and evaluations.
Table 1. Type and Characteristics of the Projects
Industry&Technology Size Type
1 Composites covering whole materials range L Applied technology to cover the whole
processing steps
2 Composites for a particular application M Applied technology to cover the whole
steps including thorough testing
3 Composites for a general purpose application L Applied technology to cover the whole
steps including testing, modelling
4 Composites for a specific component development L Applied technology to cover synthesis,
processing, development and thorough
field testing
5 Composites for a general purpose application and L Applied science and technology to cover
technology development the whole steps including thorough testing
6 Composites for a specific process development S Applied science and processing techniques
covering steps including synthesis,
development and testing
7 Composites for a particular application M Applied technology covering testing and
application
8 Composite for a specific product development L Applied science and technology covering
processing, testing and application
9 Composites for a particular application M Technology development utilizing
recyclable materials for applications
10 Composites for a specific product and process L Applied science and technology covering
development synthesis, processing, testing and
application
11 Composites as a specific functional elements for a L Applied technology covering testing and
high tech application performance
12 Composites for a general purpose application L Applied science and technology covering
synthesis, processing and thorough testing
on prototypes
Note: L:Large; M:Medium; S:Small
The size of the projects are classified as follows: L: Large size projects, duration min. 3 years, budgets above 2 million USD; M: Medium size projects, duration 2-3 years, budgets 1-2 million USD; S: Small size projects, duration max. 1 year, budget less than 1 million USD. Type of the projects reflects a recent customer inquiries covering the whole range of steps including synthesis, development and thorough testing. Thorough testing implies the whole range of characterization of materials properties and performances according to standarts and norms. Since composites are representing an emerging high technology materials with advanced properties (particularly light weight, high strength and durability) the Table 1 also reflects a major trends for customers demands of specific applications. In Table 2 , a qualitative questionaire card for the assessment and evaluation of projects is shown for identifying various aspects, types, classification and characteristics of projects under investigation.
Some of the major results and findings on the 12 projects are summarized and listed as follows:
- Majority of the projects under investigation can be vieweved as high-tech materials project due to the nature of processing techniques (new, novel, sophisticated), multi-functionality (durability, light weight, special functions), testing-performance and other features. Some projects have medium-technology characteristics. Functional materials system development was the major emphasis within the projects and particularly composites as the nature of materials imply were chosen to combine various materials ranging from particulate ceramics, metals-alloys, polymeric substances, specialty bonding agents, novel chemicals treating interfaces in between different materials to many others.
- Customer profile shows a variety of state organizations and institutions and SMEs. Demands of particular materials technology from SMEs show an emerging trend for the new era.
- Majority of the projects aimed for materials systems development for multi-and/or specific-functional products for applications as 1:1 prototypes (in some cases a limited manufacturing were also demanded).
- Projects were all reflected multi-disciplinary characteristics covering scientific disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, mathematics, physics, electronics besides materials sciences and engineering.
- Sectoral profile reflects the recent shift from regular sectors of metals, ceramics, plastics to a more diverse sectroral distribution of transport, environments, communication, automotive and defense.
- Majority of the projects had used creative and innovative ideas and novel applications within the processing techniques, interface manipulation, bonding, special chemical treatments and testing.
- All the projects were conducted collaboratively through a diverse environment and networks including (active participants ranging 3-10 were involved in projects):
• Universities;
• Other departments and divisions of the organization;
• Sub-contractor companies and organizations;
• International organizations;
• National and international suppliers;
• Project's contracted partners.
- Expected performances of the developed materials systems were ranging with varying degrees of very important-to-critical. Majority of the projects had resulted in original and novel ideas and lead to legal intellectual property procedures.
Table 2. Questionaire Card for the Assessments and Evaluation for the Projects
Type of Technology
Medium
System Component Process Testing
Customer Profile
Functional Characteristics
R & D type
Scientific profile Sectoral profile
Innovation & Creativity Testing types
Networking & Collaboration (as # of actors involved)
Critical Performance
Patents & Intellectual property
Large Corporation SME State
Others (foundation, non-profit civilian organizations) Mono-functional Multi-functional Specific function Basic science Applied
Technology development with prototyping Mono-disciplinary Multi-disciplinary
Metals - Energy
Machinery - Transport
Electronics - Environment
Ceramics - Automotive
Textile - Others
Healthcare Innovative & creative ideas exists OR not Type of innovation: On basic value chain OR supporting actions Standarts and norms Specific testing procedurs Novel testing
University - Suppliers
Sub-contractors - Partnership
International
Not important
important
Very important
Critical
Patent application exist OR not Exploitation of already existing patent OR not Not an issue
5. Discussion and Conclusion
As pointed out before, despite the fact of regularly developing new technical and scientific achievements and improvements, there is a lack of research in technology and innovation management of advanced materials covering its newly forming characteristics in diverse and multi-sectoral markets. Such factors can be classified within three basic headlines as:
i. Innovativeness & Creativity;
ii. Collaboration & Networking;
iii. Critical performance & Multi- and/or special-functionality.
As indicated before, since advanced materials technologies carry challenges both in market and in technological (high risk, uncertainties, long duration of research, high cost of investment etc) innovation mechanism is categorized along market-technology matching (coupling) model. Qualitative data gathered from 12 projects reflects customer's demand on composites processing, prototype development and complete testing, analysis and characterization procedures along with special performance measurement techniques. In each of these steps, innovative ideas and solutions were inquired from those networing actors of universities, subcontractors and even from suppliers (specificaly chemicals, bonding agents, interface treatment substances etc). In this regard, highly complex innovation dynamics were observed during the projects' activities. This should be considered as one of the emerging faces of new advanced materials technologies particularly in composites. Most of the innovative ideas and applications involve extensive collaboration through the triple cooperation of university-industry-research institution to come up with novel solutions based upon scientific and technical findings.
The qualitative findings and results of selected 12 contracted projects indicate the emerging characteristics of new advanced materials system as rising of collaborative networking and cooperative activites within variety of sectors. It was found that the predominant connections among such activities are with universities, raw materials supplier companies, service-providing companies for testing, analysis, characterization and variety of treatments (thermal, mechanical and chemical) along with in house collaboration for processing and applications. Such findings should be considered new and emerging since the market is very well known for its intensely competitive environment and sensitivity for any spillovers of information of any kind.
Customer's demands had focused on the critical performances of composites developed through almost all of the projects and thorough testing, analysis and characterization procedures by accredited laboratories were inquired. Composites as integral entities of variety of different materials types, shapes and classes (metalsalloys, ceramics, plastics, chemical substances etc) within systems were expected to carry specific functions (mechanical, physical, chemical and others) during their applications under severe conditions and environments. The majority of customers' demands and desires for materials (for both products and processes) based upon the projects' findings can be listed as follows:
• Decreasing size and weight is the predominant inquiry;
• Almost all organizations desire to be innovation-centric and seek for creative solutions in all levels of operations.
• Functionality within the same material's platform is a must and integrity is primarily demanded.
• High value added products are the major targets of organizations.
• Lowering cost and high volume production are secondary concerns.
• Collaborative networking is extensively emerging and many firms are seeking for reliable and efficient university collaborations.
• Major areas of interests in advanced materials: Tailored materials; Smart / Intellectual systems; Nano-structured materials (as functional coatings); Functional materials systems.
Based upon the findings and observations through these projects, a new approach and understanding for such new materials complex depicted as "advanced composites" may reflect the following attributes:
• In such materials complexes, one may not consider materials as simple and plane elements and/or subelements of a system. The system itself is a new advanced materials platform as an integral entity developed for specific functions with multi-variant properties and characteristics.
• Such a complex materials system may not be developed by single and/or limited actors, an extensive collaborative networks should be developed for innovative materials system. Actors of networks should include a range of actors from varying fields and sectors.
• University, academia involvement must be an unseperable actors for such networking for the scientific and technological framework for the development of new advanced composites.
• High risk and high cost of investment and maintenance for processing, testing, analysis and characterization during the R & D and innovation stages may be solved by directing such investments to professional research and technology organizations (RTOs). Such RTOs may play a central role in variety of networks as service providers in processing, testing, analysis and characterization along with other tasks such as sub-contracting and consulting as well as collaborative partners.
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