Energy absorption

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to read our recent paper on hierarchically architected foams published in Extreme Mechanics Letters: Read full article here.

Abstract

Distinct deformation mechanisms that emerge in nanoscale enable the nanostructured materials to exhibit outstanding specific mechanical properties. Here, we present superior microstructure- and strain-rate-dependent specific penetration energy (up to ∼3.8 MJ/kg) in semicrystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) thin films subjected to high-velocity (100 m/s to 1 km/s) microprojectile (diameter: 9.2 μm) impacts.

I'm posting a few experimental studies we have conducted on the dynamic behavior of hierarchical fibrous materials, using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as a model material. I hope these will be useful to those who are interested in buckle-instabilities, multiscale behavior, and energy absorption mechanisms.

An overview:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2015.11.008  Metallic thin-walled round tubes are widely used as energy absorption elements.  However, lateral splash of the round tubes under impact loadings reduces the energy absorption efficiency and may cause secondary damages.  Therefore, it is necessary to assemble and fasten round tubes together by boundary constraints and/or fasteners between tubes, which increases the time and labor cost and affects the mechanical performance