CAREER: The Mechanics of Tunable Exoskeleton Structures: Interactions of Rigid Scales with Deformable Substrates

这个教师早期职业发展（CAREER）补助金将发现生物启发外骨骼结构的复杂机械行为的基本原理。需要在理解外骨骼的行为和设计方面取得突破，以满足人类集成机器人技术、老化基础设施检查、损伤康复等日益增长的工业需求。最基本的外骨骼结构包括相对较软的基座和一系列较硬的、从基座突出的鳞片作为外骨骼。随着底座变形，这些嵌入的鳞片也会发生碰撞和滑动，从而导致非线性机械响应和多功能性的出现，这在传统材料中通常是不可能的。该研究项目旨在借助分析技术、多尺度计算建模和实验验证来理解和量化这种结构-性质相互作用。此外，教育和外联计划包括几项努力：通过一个机构STEM中心纳入代表性不足的学生，这是一个独特的技术科幻活动，名为RoboTales，作为大学STEM日的一部分，并通过在大都会科学中心举行的“现代机器”夜间活动参与公共教育。本研究的目的是量化结构-属性关系在外骨骼结构的代表性类别中起作用，并发现普遍和紧急的极端行为。先前的工作已经表明，在柔软的、最初平坦的基底上的刚性仿生鳞片在弯曲和扭转模式下引起应变硬化，直到达到刚性“锁定”状态。然而，鲜为人知的是，这些结果的一般性以外的梁状基板，限制了他们的应用。因此，PI有两个假设：（a）存在普遍的运动学锁定-刚性锁定行为的几何形状，变形模式和序列和（B）极端涌现行为-出现多轴非线性响应，对称性破缺与手性和各向异性的演变，和本地锁定模式。这些假设的测试将通过开发新的能力来实现：（i）几何精确的非线性弹性模型，（ii）多尺度有限元模型，包括均匀化模型，跨越外骨骼尺度（微观）和基底变形（宏观），以及（iii）主动外部构造的多材料系统的力学。选定的3D数字图像相关性实验将为理解和验证提供进一步的数据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant will discover the fundamentals of the complex mechanical behavior of bioinspired exoskeleton structures. Breakthroughs in the understanding of behavior and design of exoskeletons are needed to fulfill the growing industrial needs of human-integrated robotics, inspection of aging infrastructure, injury rehabilitation, etc. The most elementary of exoskeleton structures consists of a relatively soft base and an array of stiffer, protruding scales from the base serving as the exoskeleton. As the base deforms, so do these embedded scales, which collide and slide against each other leading to the emergence of nonlinear mechanical response and multi-functionality, not typically possible in traditional materials. This research project aims to understand and quantify this structure-property interplay with the help of analytical techniques, multi-scale computational modeling, and experimental validation. Additionally, the education and outreach plan includes several efforts: inclusion of underrepresented students via an institutional STEM center, a unique technology-science fiction event named RoboTales as part of university’s STEM day, and participation in public education via the ‘modern machines’ night event at the Metropolitan Science Center.The objective of this research is to quantify the structure-property relationships operative in a representative class of exoskeletal structures and discover universal and emergent extreme behavior. Prior work has shown that the rigid biomimetic scales on soft, initially flat substrates give rise to strain stiffening in both bending and twisting modes until a rigid ‘locking’ state is reached. However, little is known about the generality of these results beyond beam like substrates, limiting their application. Therefore, the PI has two hypotheses: (a) existence of universal kinematic locking–rigid locking behavior across geometry, deformation modes, and sequence and (b) extreme emergent behavior–emergence of multiaxial nonlinear response, broken symmetry with evolution of chirality and anisotropy, and localized locked modes. Testing of these hypotheses will be achieved via development of new capabilities: (i) geometrically exact nonlinear elasticity models, (ii) multi-scale finite element models, including homogenization models, spanning the exoskeleton scales (micro) and the substrate deformation (macro), and (iii) mechanics of active externally architected multi-material systems. Selected experiments with 3D digital image correlation will provide further data for understanding and validation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.