plankton \u201cshells,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for example, take advantage of this strategy in nature. They\u2019re built with complex geometries to get more than you might expect out of the substances they\u2019re made from. With tools like 3D printing, researchers can now apply that strategy to metals, polymers and other materials to engineer sought-after properties that haven\u2019t been attainable previously.<\/p>\n\u201cThe idea isn\u2019t that we\u2019re going to replace steel and plastics, but use them more effectively,\u201d McInerney said.<\/p>\n
New-school meets old-school<\/p>\n
While this work does rely on modern innovations, it has important historical underpinnings. For one, there\u2019s the work of the famous 19th century physicist, James Clerk Maxwell. Although he\u2019s best known for his work in electromagnetism and thermodynamics, he also dabbled in mechanics and developed useful design considerations for creating stable structures with repeating subunits called Maxwell lattices, McInerney said.<\/p>\n
Another key concept behind the new study emerged in the latter half of the 20th century, as physicists found that interesting and perplexing behaviors emerged near the edges and boundaries of materials. This led to a new field of study, known as topology, that\u2019s still very active and working to explain these behaviors and to help capitalize on them in the real world.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a decade ago, there was a seminal publication that found out that Maxwell lattices can exhibit a topological phase,\u201d McInerney said.<\/p>\n
Over the last several years, McInerney and colleagues have explored the implications of that study as they pertain to vibration isolation. The team has built up a model explaining that behavior and how to design a real object that would exhibit it. The team has now proved that its model is at its most advanced stage yet by actually making such objects with 3D printed nylon.<\/p>\n
A cursory look at the structures reveals why making them previously was such a challenge. They resemble a chain-link fence that\u2019s been folded over and rolled up into a tube with a connected inner and outer layer. Physicists call these kagome tubes, a reference to traditional Japanese basket weaving that used similar patterns.<\/p>\n
This is, however, just the first step in realizing the potential of such structures, McInerney said. For instance, the study also showed that the better a structure is at suppressing vibrations, the less weight it can support. That is a costly, potentially even unacceptable, tradeoff in terms of applications, but it highlights interesting opportunities and questions that remain at a fundamental level, he said.<\/p>\n
As such novel structures are made, scientists and engineers are going to need to build new standards and approaches to test, characterize and assess them, which is a challenge that excites McInerney.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we have such new behaviors, we\u2019re still uncovering not just the models, but the way that we would test them, the conclusions we would draw from the tests and how we would implement those conclusions into a design process,\u201d he said. \u201cI think those are the questions that honestly need to be answered before we start answering questions about applications.\u201d<\/p>\n
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