SBIR Phase II: MetaMaterial for Seismic Energy Absorption

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业机会源于我们实现地震保护的方式的范式转变。机械超材料的使用为提高当前建筑物和基础设施的抗震保护水平提供了新的机会，这最终可以提高社区的恢复能力并挽救生命。机械超材料是专门设计的具有前所未有性能的材料。从传统的基于系统的设计发展到基于材料的设计，有可能创造出比大多数现有技术更具可定制性和更容易安装的地震解决方案。这项技术可以取代现有的地震保护系统，这些系统传统上旨在挽救建筑物居住者的生命，但可能无法解决其中的重要设备。提高地震防护水平对震后需要持续运作的商业活动和服务具有直接价值。这项创新的广泛应用有可能增加地震易发地区社区的恢复能力，减少地震相关的直接和间接损失。这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目解决了提高我们关键基础设施，特别是信息技术（IT）设施的抗震能力的需求。这些项目将通过使用创新的混合增材制造（AM）工艺制造的新型机械超材料，在振动敏感电子设备的地震保护方面取得革命性进展。将演示组合多个增材制造工艺以制造此类超材料的多组件内部结构的可行性。特别是，AM工艺在高度复杂的建筑中结合硬材料和软材料的有效性将得到解决，目的是增强机械超材料的设计空间。这个扩大的设计空间对IT设施的抗震能力的影响将通过开发一个特定的抗震框架来研究。该框架将用于分析和比较数据中心与传统系统和高度可定制的超材料的地震弹性，这是由制造过程产生的。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。

The broader impact/commercial opportunity of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project stems from creating a paradigmatic shift in the way we achieve seismic protection. The use of mechanical metamaterials fosters new opportunities to increase current levels of seismic protection of buildings and infrastructure, which could ultimately increase the resilience of communities and save lives. Mechanical metamaterials are materials specifically designed to have unprecedented properties. Evolving from a traditional system-based design to a material-based design has the potential of creating seismic solutions that are more customizable and easier to install than most of the current technologies. This technology could replace current seismic protection systems that are traditionally aimed at saving building occupants' lives, but may not address the important equipment therein. An enhanced level of seismic protection constitutes an immediate value for commercial activities and services requiring continuity of operations after earthquakes. The extensive application of the innovation has the potential of increasing the resiliency of communities in seismic prone areas and reduce seismic related direct and indirect losses.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses the need for increasing the seismic resilience of our critical infrastructure, and in particular Information Technology (IT) facilities. The projects will result in a revolutionary advance in the seismic protection of vibration sensitive electronic equipment through the use of novel mechanical metamaterials made with an innovative hybrid additive manufacturing (AM) process. The feasibility of combining multiple AM processes to manufacture the multi-component internal architecture of such metamaterials will be demonstrated. In particular, the effectiveness of AM processes in combining hard and soft materials in a highly-complex architecture will be addressed, with the aim of enhancing the design space of the mechanical metamaterial. The effects of this enlarged designed space on the seismic resilience of IT facilities will be investigated by developing a specific seismic resilience framework. The framework will be used to analyze and compare the seismic resilience of data centers with traditional systems and highly customizable metamaterials, as resulting from the manufacturing process.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.