In recent years, there has been a significant effort by researchers to expand the limits in the design of state of the art new materials. Interest in the design of smart materials is continually increasing due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research with applications ranging from the macro to the nanoscale. The fundamental idea is to engineer the architecture of microstructures at different scales of interest in order to attain the more unusual, lesser-known properties. Within this framework, one of the most challenging mechanical problems is the realization that smart materials have the ability to morph their microstructures to an optimal configuration depending on external stimuli.
This Research Topic aims to collect the best insights into the design and testing of optimal microstructure configurations that are capable of achieving static and dynamic high performance. Filtering, wave-guiding, self-collimation, mechanical energy transfer, wave polarization, and band-gap control are all areas of interest for this collection.
Particular attention should be given to recent advances in the field of innovative reprogrammable hierarchical microstructures and active metamaterials. There are some limitations to current designs that have been proposed, therefore this Research Topic intends to include new analytical models, sophisticated numerical techniques and non-conventional experimental methodologies for the optimal design of innovative smart metastructures.
Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Topological and parametrical optimization of 3D printed micro-architected materials to attain extreme mechanical properties;
• Origami-like materials, capable of morphing its microstructure from one configuration to another to achieve enhanced static and dynamic mechanical properties or realize innovative actuators and mechanical devices;
• Design of high-performance and active metamaterials to enable the elastic wave propagation control, the shielding or the cloaking of an object, the opening or the widening of band gaps, the realization of spectral filtering and negative refraction;
• Design of multiphase electro-active metamaterials to attain non-standard dynamical responses, for instance using piezoelectric phases shunted by an electrical circuit with tunable properties.
In recent years, there has been a significant effort by researchers to expand the limits in the design of state of the art new materials. Interest in the design of smart materials is continually increasing due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research with applications ranging from the macro to the nanoscale. The fundamental idea is to engineer the architecture of microstructures at different scales of interest in order to attain the more unusual, lesser-known properties. Within this framework, one of the most challenging mechanical problems is the realization that smart materials have the ability to morph their microstructures to an optimal configuration depending on external stimuli.
This Research Topic aims to collect the best insights into the design and testing of optimal microstructure configurations that are capable of achieving static and dynamic high performance. Filtering, wave-guiding, self-collimation, mechanical energy transfer, wave polarization, and band-gap control are all areas of interest for this collection.
Particular attention should be given to recent advances in the field of innovative reprogrammable hierarchical microstructures and active metamaterials. There are some limitations to current designs that have been proposed, therefore this Research Topic intends to include new analytical models, sophisticated numerical techniques and non-conventional experimental methodologies for the optimal design of innovative smart metastructures.
Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:
• Topological and parametrical optimization of 3D printed micro-architected materials to attain extreme mechanical properties;
• Origami-like materials, capable of morphing its microstructure from one configuration to another to achieve enhanced static and dynamic mechanical properties or realize innovative actuators and mechanical devices;
• Design of high-performance and active metamaterials to enable the elastic wave propagation control, the shielding or the cloaking of an object, the opening or the widening of band gaps, the realization of spectral filtering and negative refraction;
• Design of multiphase electro-active metamaterials to attain non-standard dynamical responses, for instance using piezoelectric phases shunted by an electrical circuit with tunable properties.