Additively Manufactured Mechanical Metamaterials for Blast and Impact Protection

Additive Manufacturing presents new opportunities for the design of high performance cellular materials
for impact energy absorption. Recent research has demonstrated the performance potential of metallic
cellular materials produced using Selective Laser Melting AM processes under high strain rate loading
conditions. The proposed project will pursue two novel areas of research: (1) AM processing of cellular
materials containing Shape Memory Alloy, and (2) application of this understanding to develop smart
impact energy absorbing materials capable of configurational change. Two novel and challenging
application areas are anticipated within the Space Industry: (a) reusable energy absorbers for vehicle
landing impacts; (b) self-healing protection against space debris impact. The research will be carried out
as a PhD project, consisting of two phases. (1) Extend current understanding of the coupling between
cellular geometry, AM processing parameters and high strain rate mechanical properties to SMA. Results
for SMA will be compared with more established alloys. (2) Develop strategies for the design of AM
cellular materials incorporating SMA, that achieve both effective impact protection and geometry
reconfiguration. This will consider any trade-off between these functions, and design optimisation. The
research will focus first on impact scenarios relevant for application (a), and will then be extended to
consider the significantly higher impact velocity regime of application (b).