MIT and Northeastern Engineers Build Web-Like Materials That Better Absorb Impacts
The researchers used networks of tiny support beams with different sizes instead of a repeating pattern, making materials that better withstand sudden impacts in laboratory tests.
Engineers at MIT and Northeastern University have developed a new way to design materials that better withstand sudden impacts, using web-like networks inspired by structures found in nature.
The team calls the designs "scale-rich metamaterials." Instead of repeating one small building block throughout a material, the researchers used interconnected support beams with different sizes, creating networks similar to veins in leaves or patterns in dragonfly wings.
In physical tests, the materials offered a wide range of stiffness and resisted sudden impacts better than conventional metamaterials with regular, repeating structures. They also cushioned fragile objects placed inside them, according to MIT.
The researchers used an algorithm to design the networks and 3D-printing methods to make polymer samples. The work was published in the journal Nature, MIT said in its November 11 announcement.
One advantage is how the networks respond when part of the material is damaged. In a regular structure, neighboring sections can deform in the same way and cause a larger failure. Varying the connections gives engineers another way to control how forces move through a material.
Potential uses include impact-absorbing helmets and armor, along with materials that focus sound or vibrations. Those are possible applications of the research, not products announced for sale.