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1. Buckling and twisting of advanced materials into morphable 3D mesostructures

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901193116  

   Zhao, Hangbo ; Li, Kan ; Han, Mengdi ; Zhu, Feng ; Vázquez-Guardado, Abraham ; Guo, Peijun ; Xie, Zhaoqian ; Park, Yoonseok ; Chen, Lin ; Wang, Xueju ; et al ( July 2019 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Recently developed methods in mechanically guided assembly provide deterministic access to wide-ranging classes of complex, 3D structures in high-performance functional materials, with characteristic length scales that can range from nanometers to centimeters. These processes exploit stress relaxation in prestretched elastomeric platforms to affect transformation of 2D precursors into 3D shapes by in- and out-of-plane translational displacements. This paper introduces a scheme for introducing local twisting deformations into this process, thereby providing access to 3D mesostructures that have strong, local levels of chirality and other previously inaccessible geometrical features. Here, elastomeric assembly platforms segmented into interconnected, rotatable units generate in-plane torques imposed through bonding sites at engineered locations across the 2D precursors during the process of stress relaxation. Nearly 2 dozen examples illustrate the ideas through a diverse variety of 3D structures, including those with designs inspired by the ancient arts of origami/kirigami and with layouts that can morph into different shapes. A mechanically tunable, multilayered chiral 3D metamaterial configured for operation in the terahertz regime serves as an application example guided by finite-element analysis and electromagnetic modeling.
2. Investigating the morphological transitions in an associative surfactant ternary system

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SM01668G  

   Honaryar, Houman ; LaNasa, Jacob A. ; Hickey, Robert J. ; Shillcock, Julian C. ; Niroobakhsh, Zahra ( March 2022 , Soft Matter)

   Associative surfactants systems involving polar oils have recently been shown to stabilize immiscible liquids by forming nanostructures at the liquid interface and have been used to print soft materials. Although these associating surfactant systems show great promise for creating nanostructured soft materials, a fundamental understanding of the self-assembly process is still unknown. In this study, a ternary phase diagram for a system of cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride monohydrate (CPCl), a polar oil (oleic acid), and water is established using experiment and simulation, to study the equilibrium phase behavior. A combination of visual inspection, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and rheological measurements was employed to establish the phase behavior and properties of the self-assembled materials. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is used to simulate the formation of the morphologies in this system and support the experimental results. The ternary phase diagram obtained from the simulations agrees with the experimental results, indicating the robustness of the computational simulation as a supplement to the mesoscale experimental systems. We observe that morphological transitions ( e.g. , micelle-to-bilayer and vesicle-to-lamellar) are in agreement between experiments and simulations across the ternary diagram. DPD simulations correctly predict that associative surfactant systems form new nanoscale phases due to the co-assemblymore »of the components. The established ternary phase diagram and the DPD model pave the way towards predicting and controlling the formation of different mesostructures like lamellar or vesicles, opening new avenues to tailor and synthesize desired morphologies for applications related to liquid-in-liquid 3D printing.« less
3. The form-finding and fabrication of an ultra-thin funicular bridge prototype made up of hollow glass units

   LU, Yao ; CREGAN, Matthew ; CHHADEH, Philipp A ; SEYEDAHMADIAN, Alireza ; BOLHASSANI, Mohammad ; Schneider, Jens ; YOST, Joseph R ; AKBARZADEH, Masoud ( October 2021 , International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures)

   The recent development of three-dimensional graphic statics (3DGS) has greatly increased the ease of designing complex and efficient spatial funicular structural forms [1]. The reciprocal diagram based 3DGS approaches not only generate highly efficient funicular structures [2], but also result in planarity constraints due to the polyhedron nature of the reciprocal diagrams [3]. Our previous research has shown the feasibility of leveraging this planarity by using planar glass sheets to materialize the 10m-span, double-layer glass bridge [3]. This paper is framed as a proof of concept for the 10m bridge and explores the form-finding, detail configuration, fabrication constraints, and assembly logic by designing and constructing a small-scale bridge prototype with a span of 2.5m. The prototype is designed in a modular approach, where each polyhedral cell of the form is materialized using a hollow glass unit (HGU) (Figure 1a), which can be prefabricated and preassembled, and therefore, greatly simplifies the assembly of the whole bridge. The compression-only form of the prototype is generated using the PolyFrame beta [4] plug-in for Rhinoceros [5]. The form-finding is carried out with a comprehensive consideration of a variety of parameters, including fabrication constraints, assembly ease, construction cost, and practicality. To start the form-finding process,more »a group of closed convex force polyhedrons is aggregated, controlling the topology of the form diagram and the orientations of the form elements. By manipulating the face tilting angles of the force diagram, the supported edges at the end of the bridge are all made horizontal, reducing the difficulty of the support design. Then, vertex locations and edge lengths of the form diagram are constrained, determining the final dimensions of both the bridge and the cells. After getting the geometry of the bridge, the detail developments are streamlined. Each of the 13 HGUs consists of two flat deck plates and a series of side plates (Figure 1b). To interlock the adjacent cells and prevent possible sliding, a male-female connection mechanism is introduced to the conjoint side plates of the HGUs (Figure 1b). Additionally, to eliminate the direct contact of the glass parts and prevent the stress concentration, two softer transparent materials are involved for connecting purposes. Within each HGU, silicon-based binding agent is used to hold the glass parts together; between the neighboring HGUs, plastic sheets are placed as interface materials (Figure 1b). Figure 1. a) The 2.5m-span small-scale prototype dome, b) Exploded view showing deck plates, side plates, male-female connection, and interface material For the fabrication of the glass parts, 5-axis Waterjet cutting techniques are applied. While the glass sheets for the deck plates can be purchased from the market, the irregular side plates with male-female connections need to be made from kiln-cast glass. In terms of the Waterjet cutting constraints, there is a max cutting angle of 60 degrees from vertical. With respect to this, all the glass parts are examined during the design process to ensure they all satisfy the cutting angle requirements. Aiming to achieve a fast and precise assembly, several assistant techniques are developed. On the local HGU level, assembly connectors are designed and 3D-printed to help locate the glass parts. On the global prototype level, the assembly sequence of the HGUs are simulated to avoid interference. Besides, a labeling system is also established to organize the fabricated parts and guide the entire assembly process. The design and construction of this small-scale prototype provide important information for the future development of the full-scale bridge regarding the interlocking detail design, the fabrication constraints, and assembly logic. The actual structural performance of the prototype awaits further investigation through-loading experiments.« less
4. Soft matter from liquid crystals

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9sm01424a  

   Kim, Young-Ki ; Noh, JungHyun ; Nayani, Karthik ; Abbott, Nicholas L. ( September 2019 , Soft Matter)

   Liquid crystals (LCs) are fluids within which molecules exhibit long-range orientational order, leading to anisotropic properties such as optical birefringence and curvature elasticity. Because the ordering of molecules within LCs can be altered by weak external stimuli, LCs have been widely used to create soft matter systems that respond optically to electric fields (LC display), temperature (LC thermometer) or molecular adsorbates (LC chemical sensor). More recent studies, however, have moved beyond investigations of optical responses of LCs to explore the design of complex LC-based soft matter systems that offer the potential to realize more sophisticated functions ( e.g. , autonomous, self-regulating chemical responses to mechanical stimuli) by directing the interactions of small molecules, synthetic colloids and living cells dispersed within the bulk of LCs or at their interfaces. These studies are also increasingly focusing on LC systems driven beyond equilibrium states. This review presents one perspective on these advances, with an emphasis on the discovery of fundamental phenomena that may enable new technologies. Three areas of progress are highlighted; (i) directed assembly of amphiphilic molecules either within topological defects of LCs or at aqueous interfaces of LCs, (ii) templated polymerization in LCs via chemical vapor deposition, an approach that overcomesmore »fundamental challenges related to control of LC phase behavior during polymerization, and (iii) studies of colloids in LCs, including chiral colloids, soft colloids that are strained by LCs, and active colloids that are driven into organized states by dissipation of energy ( e.g. bacteria). These examples, and key unresolved issues discussed at the end of this perspective, serve to convey the message that soft matter systems that integrate ideas from LC, surfactant, polymer and colloid sciences define fertile territory for fundamental studies and creation of future transformative technologies.« less
5. Behavior of polyhedral built-up glass compression members

   Yost, Joseph Robert ; Akbarzadeh, Masoud ; Bolhassani, Mohammad ; Ryan, Liam ; Schneider, Jens ; Chhadeh, Philipp Amir ( July 2021 , International Conference on Civil Engineering and Architectural Design)

   This research presents an experimental program executed to understand the strength and stiffness properties of hollow built-up glass compression members that are intended for use in the modular construction of all glass, compression-dominant, shell-type structures. The proposed compression-dominant geometric form has been developed using the methods of form finding and three-dimensional graphical statics. This research takes the first steps towards a new construction methodology for glass structures where individual hollow glass units (HGU) are assembled using an interlocking system to form large, compression-dominant, shell-type structures, thereby exploiting the high compression strength of glass. In this study, an individual HGU has an elongated hexagonal prism shape and consists of two deck plates, two long side plates, and four short side plates, as is shown in Figure 1. Connections between glass plates are made using a two-sided transparent structural adhesive tape. The test matrix includes four HGUs, two each fabricated with 1 mm and 2 mm thick adhesive tape. All samples are dimensioned 64 cm on the long axis of symmetry, 51 cm on the short axis of symmetry, and are 10 cm in width. Glass plates are all 10 mm thick annealed float glass with geometric fabrication done using 5-axis abrasivemore »water jet cutting. HGU assembly is accomplished using 3D printed truing clips and results in a rigid three-dimensional glass frame. Testing was done with the HGU oriented such that load was introduced on the short side edges of the two deck plates, resulting in an asymmetric load-support condition. A soft interface material was used between the HGU and steel plates of the hydraulic actuator and support for the purpose of avoiding premature cracking from local stress concentrations on the glass edges at the load and support locations. Force was applied in displacement control at 0.25 mm/minute with a full array of displacement and strain sensors. Test results for load vs. center deck plate transverse deflection are shown in Figure 2. All samples failed explosively by flexural buckling with no premature cracking on the load and support edges of the deck plates. Strain and deformation data clearly show the presence of second-order behavior resulting from bending deformation perpendicular to the plane of the deck plates. In general, linear axial behavior transitions to nonlinear second-order behavior, with increasing rates in deflection and strain growth, ultimately ending in glass fracture on the tension surfaces of the buckled deck plates. The failure resulted in near-complete disintegration of the deck plates, but with no observable cracking in any side plates and a secure connection on all adhesive tape. Results of the experimental program clearly demonstrate the feasibility of using HGUs for modular construction of compression dominant all-glass shell-type structures. This method of construction can significantly reduce the self-weight of the structure, and it will inspire the use of sustainable materials in the construction of efficient structures.« less