Events Calendar

AME Seminar

Speaker: Carlos M. Portela, Caltech

Talk Title: Fabrication, Mechanical Characterization, and Modeling of 3D Architected Materials upon Static and Dynamic Loading

Abstract: Architected materials have been ubiquitous in nature, enabling unique properties that are unachievable by monolithic, homogeneous materials. Inspired by natural processes, man-made three-dimensional (3D) architected materials have been reported to enable novel mechanical properties such as high stiffness- to-density ratios or extreme resilience, increasingly so when nanoscale size effects are present. However, most architected materials have relied on advanced additive manufacturing techniques that are not yet scalable and yield small sample sizes. Additionally, most of these nano- and micro-architected materials have only been studied in the static regime, leaving the dynamic parameter space unexplored.



In this talk, we discuss advances in our understanding of architected materials by: (i ) proposing numerical and theoretical tools that predict the behavior of architected materials with non-ideal geometries, (ii ) presenting a pathway for scalable fabrication of tunable nano-architected materials, and (iii ) exploring the response of nano- and micro-architected materials under three types of dynamic loading. We first explore the mechanics of lattice architectures with features at the micro- and millimeter scales, and discuss the effect of nodes (i.e., junctions) to obtain more accurate computational and theoretical predictive tools. Going beyond lattices, we propose alternative node-less geometries that exhibit extreme mechanical resilience at the nanoscale, and we harness self-assembly processes to demonstrate a pathway to fabricate them in cubic-centimeter volumes while maintaining nanoscale resolution. Lastly, we venture into the dynamic regime by designing, fabricating, and testing micro-architected materials that exhibit vibrational band gaps in the MHz regime as well as nano-architected materials with extreme energy absorption upon microparticle supersonic impact.

Host: AME Department

More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/