Credit: D. Dykstra et al.
Traditionally a material is either stiff or proficient at absorbing vibrations, however, researchers at the University of Amsterdam believe that they have designed a new class of materials that can excel at both. By utilizing thin sheets of materials that are prone to buckling, such as metal sheets, researchers are able to create a lightweight material that not only maintains the rigidity of its original components, it also offers excellent vibration damping.
In the study, published in Advanced Materials, researchers introduce a novel method for passive vibration damping by utilizing buckling and lattice structures in metamaterials. By allowing the primary load path to buckle, the new metamaterial achieves excellent vibrational damping without compromising on stiffness.
“We discovered that the trick was to use materials that buckle, like thin metal sheets. When put together in a clever way, constructions made out of such buckled sheets become great absorbers of vibrations – but at the same time, they preserve a lot of the stiffness of the material they are made out of. Moreover, the sheets do not need to be very thick, and so the material can be kept relatively light.” - said David Dykstra, lead author of the publication.
Credit: The University of Amsterdam
By capitalizing on the lightweight nature of these materials, researchers believe that the new metamaterials presented could have groundbreaking applications in numerous industries such as aerospace, automotive, and microscopy. Aside from improving current designs, future research into the applications of these metamaterials could lead to cutting-edge future designs in numerous fields.