FMRG: Threading High-Performance, Self-Morphing Building Blocks Across Scales Toward a Sustainable Future

“未来生态制造”研究基金将受生物系统的启发，开发从纳米到宏观尺度的可持续、自变形的构建模块，设计出从厘米到米尺度的高效结构和组件的新型制造工艺。这些系统重量轻，但超强，自我支持，自适应和节能。在建造可持续建筑、桥梁等产品时，使用混凝土、钢材、铝、碳纤维等常见建筑材料会产生大量的建筑垃圾和能源消耗。聚合物及其复合材料有可能提供坚固轻便的替代品，然而，没有一种材料的性能比得上钢铁和混凝土。天然材料以其重量轻但强度、刚度和韧性惊人而闻名，如蜘蛛丝、蜻蜓翅膀和树木，其中复杂的纳米和微结构可以达到米级。受天然材料的启发，该项目将开发新的规则，新的生物基和生物启发复合材料，以及新的生态制造方法，以创造低成本，高性能的结构部件，用于重复使用，重新利用和升级回收。它将把建筑和结构设计、化学、物理、材料科学、生物、化学和机械工程、计算和经济学方面的研究人员聚集在一起。它还将通过课程创新、科学演示、公共展览、研讨会以及未被充分代表的少数民族外展和实习，培养包容和负责任的未来科学、技术、工程、艺术和数学（STEAM）劳动力和K-12。这项未来电子制造研究旨在通过解决设计和制造中的常见问题来跨越纳米和米尺度，同时克服宏观尺度上的现有挑战，如重力与内部结构力。几种类型的纳米和微结构设计元素将由具有固有各向异性的可扩展生物基和生物启发复合材料制造，随后通过折纸/基里伽米工程，模块化组装和按需打印进行生态构建。通过微调材料的界面相互作用，对动态和主动行为进行编程，以便重复使用、重新利用和升级回收，以及使用寻形和拓扑优化技术，该项目将以更少的零件和更少的装配实现更高的性能（例如更轻的重量、更高的精度、高强度、新颖的波物质相互作用）。该项目将涉及四个高度协同的重点，包括：1)多尺度刺激响应结构的多尺度设计、建模、预测和优化；2)各向异性、响应性和高强度多材料在纳米/微尺度上的组装；3)将2)中开发的材料转化为1)中设计的结构的概念验证、从简化到实践的生态制造；4)通过波物质工程突破极限，以更少的材料实现额外的性能功能。未来制造研究由土木，机械和制造创新（ENG/CMMI），材料研究（MPS/DMR），化学（MPS/CHE），工程教育和中心（ENG/EEC）以及本科教育（EHR/DUE）提供支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

This Future EcoManufacturing research grant will develop sustainable, self-morphing building blocks from the nano to macro scales inspired by the biological systems to devise novel manufacturing processes of highly efficient structures and components from centimeter to meter scale. These systems will be lightweight, yet ultrastrong, self-supportive, adaptive and energy efficient. Using common construction materials such as concrete, steel, aluminum, carbon fibers in constructing sustainable buildings, bridges, and other products involves a lot of construction waste and energy consumption. Polymers and their composites potentially offer strong and lightweight alternatives, however, none has matched the performance of steel and concrete. Natural materials are known for their lightweight yet astoundingly high strength, stiffness, and toughness, such as spider silk, dragonfly wings, and trees, where the intricate nano- and microarchitectures can prevail into meter scale. Inspired by natural materials, this project will develop new rules, new bio-based and bioinspired composite materials, and new eco-manufacturing methods to create low-cost, high-performance structural components for reuse, repurposing, and upcycling. It will bring researchers in architectural and structural designs, chemistry, physics, materials science, bio-, chemical and mechanical engineering, computation and economics together. It will also train an inclusive and responsible future Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) workforce and K-12 through curricula innovation, science demos, public exhibitions, workshop, and underrepresented minority outreach and internship. This Future EcoManufacturing research aims to bridge the nanometer- and meter-scale by addressing common questions in design and manufacturing, while overcoming existing challenges at the macroscale such as gravity versus internal structural forces. Several types of nano- and microstructured design elements will be manufactured from scalable bio-based and bioinspired composite materials with intrinsic anisotropy, followed by eco-construction via origami/kirigami engineering, modular assembly, and on-demand printing. By fine-tuning the material’s interfacial interactions to program the dynamic and active behaviors for reuse, repurpose and upcycling, and use of form-finding and topology optimization techniques, the project will achieve higher performance (e.g. lower weight, higher precision, high strength, novel wave-matter interactions) with fewer parts and reduced assembly. The project will involve four highly synergistic thrusts, including 1) multi-scaled design, modeling, prediction and optimization of stimuli-responsive structures at multi-scales, 2) assembly of anisotropic, responsive and high strength multi-materials at the nano-/microscale, 3) proof-of-concept, reduction-to-practice eco-manufacturing of materials developed in 2) into structures designed in 1), and 4) pushing the envelope to achieve additional performative function with reduced material via wave-matter engineering. This Future Manufacturing research is supported by the Divisions of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (ENG/CMMI), Materials Research (MPS/DMR), Chemistry (MPS/CHE), Engineering Education and Centers (ENG/EEC), and the Division of Undergraduate Education (EHR/DUE).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.