Expediting the Fabrication of Multifunctional Microarchitected Materials: Towards Fast and Scalable Applications

Interdisciplinary Areas: Future Manufacturing, Micro-, Nano-, and Quantum Engineering

Project Description

Microarchitected materials, characterized by intricately designed meso-structures, possess exceptional emergent properties that surpass those of conventional materials. Similarly, natural materials, despite being composed of weaker constituents, exhibit remarkable mechanical properties owing to their hierarchical architectures synthesized through a bottom-up process. Our research team has made significant strides in unraveling key mechanisms and highlighting the importance of shape, topology, and size control of building blocks and their architectures in triggering novel emerging properties. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that architected materials can display unique characteristics absent in naturally occurring materials. For instance, leveraging mechanical instabilities resulting from irreversible deformation of these materials' building blocks, we can mimic the work capacity of shape memory alloys and utilize their shape memory effect. Additionally, we can harness their pseudo-elastic behavior to create reusable impact protection systems for adaptive load-bearing structures. In this postdoctoral project, our primary objective is to engineer, fabricate, and examine innovative architected materials that exhibit new emergent behaviors and enhanced properties based on non-metallic materials. Notably, we will explore the potential of fast 3D printing as a means to achieve scalable production of these materials. Comparing fast 3D printing to newspaper printing, we aim for both speed and precision, ensuring efficient and accurate fabrication of microarchitected materials. By leveraging the advantages of fast 3D printing technology, we seek to unlock impactful applications in engineering and medicine, revolutionizing the field with their multifunctionality and scalability.

 

Start Date

January 1, 2024

 

Postdoc Qualifications

We seek a highly motivated and talented postdoctoral researcher to join our interdisciplinary research team. The successful candidate will contribute to advancing our research in the design, development, manufacturing, testing, and analysis of microarchitected materials. Postdoctoral researchers with a background in structure and mechanics of materials or chemical engineering, materials science, or chemistry with experience in: polymer science, energy applications. More specifically, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biological, Biomedical, Aerospace Engineering, or closely related fields; with solid or structural mechanics’ background. Experience with computational modeling is preferred. Experience with 3D printing and experimental characterization of materials is a plus. Interested candidates should have strong organizational, written, and verbal skills and an interest and ability to work both independently and collaboratively. While open-ended, it is envisioned that this project will combine elements of simple organic synthesis, theory, and engineering.

 

Co-Advisors

Carlos Martinez, School of Materials Engineering, https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=34724

Jeffrey Youngblood, School of Materials Engineering
https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/people/Faculty/jpyoungb

Pablo Zavattieri, Lyles School of Civil Engineering
https://engineering.purdue.edu/~zavattie/ 

 

Short Bibliography

[1] D. Restrepo, N.D. Mankame, P.D. Zavattieri, "Phase Transforming Cellular Materials", Extreme Mechanics Letters, 4, pp. 52-60 2015.
[2] Y. Zhang, D. Restrepo, M. Velay-Lizancos, N.D. Mankame & P. D. Zavattieri, “Energy dissipation in functionally two-dimensional phase transforming cellular materials”, Scientific Reports, 9:12581, 2019.
[3] Y. Zhang, D. Restrepo, M. Velay-Lizancos, N. D. Mankame, P. D. Zavattieri, “Temperature and stress-induced recovery in phase transforming cellular materials”, Matter, 4 (6), pp. 1990-2012, 2021.
[4] D. Restrepo, N.D. Mankame and P.D. Zavattieri , “Programmable materials based on periodic cellular solids. Part I: Experiments”, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 100-101, pp. 485–504, 2016.
[5] N. Suksangpanya, N. Yaraghi, D. Kisailus, P. Zavattieri, “Twisting cracks in Bouligand structures. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 76, pp. 38-57, 2017.
[6] K.W. Hector, D Restrepo, CT Bonilla, LG Hector, N Mankame, PD Zavattieri, “Mechanics of Chiral Honeycomb Architectures with Phase Transformations”, Special issue on Architectured Materials Mechanics, Journal of Applied Mechanics, 86(11): 111014, 2019.