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

这项未来生态制造研究资助将开发从纳米到宏观尺度的可持续，自我变形的构建模块，灵感来自生物系统，以设计从厘米到米尺度的高效结构和组件的新型制造工艺。这些系统将是轻量级的，但超强的，自我支持，适应性和能源效率。在建造可持续建筑、桥梁和其他产品时，使用混凝土、钢材、铝、碳纤维等常见建筑材料会产生大量建筑垃圾和能源消耗。聚合物及其复合材料可能提供坚固和轻质的替代品，但是，没有一种材料的性能与钢铁和混凝土相匹配。天然材料以其重量轻但令人惊讶的高强度，刚度和韧性而闻名，例如蜘蛛丝，蝴蝶和树木，其中复杂的纳米和微结构可以流行到米级。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的复合材料，以及新的生态制造方法，以创造低成本，高性能的结构部件，用于再利用，再利用和升级循环。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，研讨会和代表性不足的少数民族外联和实习，培养包容性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。这项未来生态制造研究旨在通过解决设计和制造中的常见问题，同时克服宏观尺度上的现有挑战，如重力与内部结构力，来弥合纳米和米尺度。几种类型的纳米和微结构设计元素将由具有内在各向异性的可扩展生物基和生物启发复合材料制造，然后通过折纸/kirigami工程、模块化组装和按需印刷进行生态构建。通过微调材料的界面相互作用，以编程动态和主动行为，用于重复使用，重新利用和升级，并使用找形和拓扑优化技术，该项目将实现更高的性能（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），减少部件和组装。该项目将涉及四个高度协同的推动力，包括1）多尺度的刺激响应结构的多尺度设计，建模，预测和优化，2）在纳米/微米尺度上组装各向异性，响应和高强度的多材料，3）概念验证，将2）中开发的材料减少到实践生态制造1）中设计的结构，以及4）通过波物质工程学来推动包络以减少材料来实现附加的表演功能。 这项未来制造研究得到了土木、机械和制造创新部门的支持。（ENG/CMMI），材料研究（MPS/DMR），化学（MPS/CHE），工程教育和中心（ENG/EEC），本科教育部（Division of Undergraduate Education，EHR/DUE）该奖项反映了NSF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进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

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.