Collaborative Research: Tailoring Energy Landscapes to Harness the Multistability for Reconfigurable 3D Buckled Structures

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This grant will focus on fundamental studies on the multistability of three-dimensional (3D) structures for well-controlled, active architectural reconfigurability. Reconfigurable structures can actively change their geometries and thereby their functionalities upon external stimuli (like mechanical forces, magnetic fields, electric fields, hydration, temperature, and pressure). Such smart, stimuli-responsive structures have a diverse range of applications in deployable solar panels, electromagnetic metamaterials, photonics, biomedical devices, soft robotics, metasurfaces, and many others. Most existing reconfiguration mechanisms, however, require persistent external stimuli to maintain the deformed shape. Reconfigurability through harnessing structural instabilities has emerged as a popular and powerful means of designing various multifunctional reconfigurable devices that can maintain their deformed shape without the need for persistent external stimuli. Despite intensive studies, the difficulty in realizing well-controlled architectural reconfigurability has significantly hindered the rational design of reconfigurable structures, especially for those composed of thin films. This research project will focus on understanding the fundamental relationship between the geometry and mechanical properties of 3D thin-film structures and their multistability and identifying the energy-efficient reconfiguration path from one stable state to another. In addition to the research activities, the project will contribute to the education of students at the graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 levels by supporting interdisciplinary doctoral student training, undergraduate research opportunities, and outreach activities to grade 6-9 girls and K-5 students from underrepresented groups.The objective of this project is to unravel the fundamental mechanics that govern architectural reconfiguration among multistable, symmetric and asymmetric configurations of flexible, three-dimensional (3D) thin-film structures. To achieve this objective, the specific aims of this project include: (1) maximize the energy barrier and eliminate intermediate local minima between stable states of 3D thin-film structures through energy landscape biasing, and (2) minimize the energy cost for shape change from one local minimum state to another, and realize the reconfigurability of 3D thin-film structures through magnetic force control. The research outcomes of the work will significantly advance our knowledge in the mechanics of multistable structures by (i) establishing relations between geometries and material compositions of thin-film structures and the energy landscape of different stable states, and (ii) determining the active forces to efficiently maneuver the structure from one stable state to another following the minimum energy path. In addition, the project will ultimately facilitate the design of well-controlled, smart reconfigurable structures and generate broad impacts on other fields, including physics, materials science, and smart materials and structures.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.