STTR Phase I: Advanced Materials for Blast and Ballistic Protection

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a new class of lightweight, multi-functional structural panels with improved performance (strength, stiffness, high impact energy dissipation, thermal management) at minimum weight. The proposed work considers a novel approach to the design and manufacture of truss core sandwich structures, involving discrete-pin placement allowing for a unique topological arrangement of truss core elements for enhanced combination of mechanical and physical properties. The program will: (1) demonstrate the fabrication approach, (2) compare mechanical performance with existing sandwich panel concepts, and (3) develop performance maps and computational protocols for application-specific panel design. Specific comparisons will be made between solid-truss and hollow-truss sandwich panel designs. This research partnership effort between Cellular Materials International and the University of California, Irvine will expand understanding of optimal panel design, promote expanded applications, and eliminate existing topological constraints on multi-functional structural materials usage. The freedom to tailor variable core thickness, core density, materials makeup, and thermo-mechanical response while allowing for complex curvature will highly enhance/broaden the use of sandwich panels in applications involving high energy impact, ballistic/blast mitigation, thermal exchange, and damping of sound and vibrational energy. Typical commercial applications may include lightweight aerospace structures, thermally efficient heat exchangers, lightweight vehicle armor, space vehicle skin structures, energy-dissipating automobile bumpers/frames, and earthquake- or blast-resistant structural walls for high profile buildings. Additional broader impacts include recruiting and training the workforce needed to enhance U.S. leadership in advanced materials and structures, and increasing participation of underrepresented K-12 and undergraduate students in engineering. This program also will enable the infrastructure for advanced materials characterization, synthesis and integration for critical commercial, civil and military systems.