Session: Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Celebration & Showcase

Paper Number: 147966

147966 - Career: Nudging and Leveraging the Onset of Buckling in Architected Materials for Performance Gains 

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award supports research that combines ideas drawn from complex algebra, applied mathematics, engineering mechanics, and applied physics to advance the fundamental understanding and controlling of the onset of micro-buckling and post micro-buckling behavior of architected materials. The mechanics and materials communities have turned their interest to using material architecture centered on unit cell designs to enable exotic material properties and functionalities, giving rise to the field known as architected materials. The unusual sets of properties and functionalities observed in architected materials are often obtained by deliberatively exploiting elastic micro-buckling, i.e., instability in the shape of the cell walls and edges forming the material due to loading. This research project will create a pathway for fine-tuning the micro-buckling instabilities in architected materials to harness tailored mechanical behaviors. The research outcomes have the potential to impact applications in medicine, transportation, aerospace, construction, and personnel protection. The award will also support an extensive education plan to broaden the participation of Latinx and Hispanics students in the STEM enterprise through curriculum improvements, outreach activities at a local museum for children, dissemination of research through YouTube videos, and recruitment, mentoring and training of undergraduate and graduate students.

The objective of this CAREER research program is to generate a new understanding of how the onset of elastic micro-buckling in periodic architected materials can be modified, controlled, and designed to achieve desired post micro-buckling behavior and thus, custom and tunable effective mechanical behaviors. The key intellectual contributions of this research are: (1) a novel computational framework based on hypercomplex finite element method to quantify and rank the influence of design parameters and their interactions; (2) a new method based on moment-based fast uncertainty quantification that predicts the variability due to uncertainties emanating from fabrication and loading conditions; and (3) the concept of the physical "nudge" as a mechanism to transition between the available buckling states and, thus, to control the onset of micro-buckling in architected materials. The nudge could be initiated through material actuation, structural design, or any other suitable measure.

Presenting Author: David Restrepo The University of Texas at San Antonio

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Restrepo is an Assistant Professor and Endowed Faculty Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at the Klesse College of Engineering & Integrated Design (KCEID) at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Before his current role, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering from Purdue University in 2015.

Dr. Restrepo's research focuses on advancing the development of new materials with exceptional properties and functionalities. To achieve this goal, his research thrust areas encompass architected materials, additive manufacturing, and bioinspired design. Moreover, his research approach combines computational simulations, theoretical analysis, fabrication, and experimental testing to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical applications. Dr. Restrepo has received several awards for his research, including the prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. His sponsored research activities include grants from the National Science Foundation, the Navy Research Office, the Army Research Office, and the Air Force.

Authors:

David Restrepo The University of Texas at San Antonio