I-Corps: Cellular Materials for Maximum Lightweighting and Structural Efficiency

I-Corps：蜂窝材料可实现最大程度的轻量化和结构效率

• 批准号: 1757053
• 负责人: Robert McMeeking
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-10-15 至 2019-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1757053&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Cellular; Materials; Maximum; Lightweighting

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-corps project can affect many industries and applications where lightweight structures and materials are advantageous. Cellular materials, such as honeycombs, foams, and lattice materials, are some of the lightest, stiffest, and strongest available at moderate to low density. There is an ever present demand for lighter, stiffer and stronger materials in industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, civil engineering, sports equipment. Lighter materials are demanded by users to experience enhanced performance, and they are sought by producers to gain a competitive edge. This project aims to find commercial applications for an ultra-lightweight cellular materials geometry-a type of 3D honeycomb-that achieves theoretical upper limits for structural efficiency and stiffness. This unique geometry is the first of its kind, and can facilitate structures with extreme stiffness, high strength, and maximum lightweight performance. The main focus is to identify opportunities in unmanned aerial vehicles for defense and commercial use.This I-Corps project assesses the commercial viability of a 3D honeycomb-like material geometry, and the Intellectual Merit encompasses establishing the commercial utility of the accompanying design, analysis and experimental scheme, which enables the creation of lightweight optimized structures with maximum stiffness and very high strength. This design is composed of two highly anisotropic subgeometries whose contributions can be tailored locally, through simple design parameters, to produce functionally graded and highly optimized structures. The symmetries and alignments of material are unique in 3D space. The relatively simple geometry can be fabricated through origami like sheet folding, allowing access to a multitude of material systems and very low density structures. This design was generated using a semi-automated finite element modeling algorithm, which allowed for a wide variety of designs to be considered.

这个I-corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力可以影响许多行业和应用，其中轻质结构和材料是有利的。多孔材料，如蜂窝，泡沫和晶格材料，是一些最轻，最硬，最强的可在中等至低密度。在航空航天、汽车、国防、土木工程、运动器材等行业中，对更轻、更硬和更强的材料的需求一直存在。用户需要更轻的材料来体验更高的性能，生产商也在寻求更轻的材料来获得竞争优势。该项目的目的是找到一种超轻的蜂窝材料几何形状的商业应用-一种3D蜂窝-达到结构效率和刚度的理论上限。这种独特的几何形状是同类产品中的第一种，可以促进结构具有极高的刚度，高强度和最大的轻量化性能。I-Corps项目评估了3D蜂窝状材料几何形状的商业可行性，其智力价值包括建立相应的设计、分析和实验方案的商业实用性，从而能够创建具有最大刚度和极高强度的轻质优化结构。这种设计是由两个高度各向异性的子几何形状，其贡献可以定制本地，通过简单的设计参数，以产生功能梯度和高度优化的结构。材料的对称性和对齐在3D空间中是唯一的。相对简单的几何形状可以通过折纸来制造，允许使用多种材料系统和非常低密度的结构。该设计是使用半自动有限元建模算法生成的，该算法允许考虑各种各样的设计。