Ultralight, Ultrastiff Mechanical Metamaterials

The mechanical properties of ordinary materials degrade substantially with reduced density because their structural elements bend under applied load. We report a class of microarchitected materials that maintain a nearly constant stiffness per unit mass density, even at ultralow density. This perfor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2014-06, Vol.344 (6190), p.1373-1377
Main Authors: Zheng, Xiaoyu, Lee, Howon, Weisgraber, Todd H., Shusteff, Maxim, DeOtte, Joshua, Duoss, Eric B., Kuntz, Joshua D., Biener, Monika M., Ge, Qi, Jackson, Julie A., Kucheyev, Sergei O., Fang, Nicholas X., Spadaccini, Christopher M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Ceramic materials
Ceramics
Density
Foams
Honeycombs
Lattices
Material properties
Materials
Materials science
Mechanical properties
Metamaterials
Octets
Polymers
Projection
Scientific Concepts
Stiffness
Structural Elements (Construction)
Youngs modulus
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Summary:The mechanical properties of ordinary materials degrade substantially with reduced density because their structural elements bend under applied load. We report a class of microarchitected materials that maintain a nearly constant stiffness per unit mass density, even at ultralow density. This performance derives from a network of nearly isotropic microscale unit cells with high structural connectivity and nanoscale features, whose structural members are designed to carry loads in tension or compression. Production of these microlattices, with polymers, metals, or ceramics as constituent materials, is made possible by projection microstereolithography (an additive micromanufacturing technique) combined with nanoscale coating and postprocessing. We found that these materials exhibit ultrastiff properties across more than three orders of magnitude in density, regardless of the constituent material.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1252291