Customizable strut assemblies and articles that employ the same

A strut assembly having a customizable stroke length directly modified by active material actuation, comprising:

• a piston sealingly engaged with and in slideable communication with a housing, wherein the piston includes at least one channel for controlling fluid flow within the housing, and is fixedly attached to one of suspended and supporting bodies, and the housing is fixedly attached to the other of said suspended and supporting bodies;
• and
• an actuator drivenly coupled to the piston, comprising a plurality of active material elements operable to under a reversible change in fundamental property when exposed to or occluded from an activation signal, and defining a longitudinal axis, wherein the active material elements are fixedly connected to the piston and configured to oppositely exert first and second longitudinal forces directly upon the piston as a result of the change,
• said actuator being configured such that the change causes a relative displacement between the piston and housing, so as to permanently modify the stroke length,
• wherein the active material elements are disposed in parallel, each active material element comprises active material selected from the group consisting essentially of shape memory alloys, electroactive polymers, and the actuator provides mechanical advantage, so as to increase the force resulting from the activation of at least a portion of the active material elements.