Topology-optimized bulk metallic glass cellular materials for energy absorption

Carstensen, Josephine V.; Lotfi, Reza; Chen, Wen; Szyniszewski, Stefan; Gaitanaros, Stavros; Schroers, Jan; Guest, James K.

Abstract

Topology optimization is increasingly being used to design the architecture of porous cellular materials with extreme elastic properties. Herein, we look to extend the design problem to the nonlinear regime and aim to maximize the energy absorption capacity until failure of the base solid occurs locally. This results in a problem formulation where the nonlinear properties are estimated using a finitely periodic structure. An interesting base material choice for energy absorption are bulk metallic glasses for which we optimize the designs and fabricate them through a thermoplastic processing method. Testing to full densification reveals that the governing mechanisms for these topologically-optimized structures are combinations of buckling and yielding at the strut-level. As a consequence, they offer superior total energy absorption over the traditional honeycomb topologies. Investigations of the same topologies made of polyether ether ketone suggest future directions on how to improve the post-peak response of topology-optimized cellular materials.

Citation

Carstensen, J. V., Lotfi, R., Chen, W., Szyniszewski, S., Gaitanaros, S., Schroers, J., & Guest, J. K. (2022). Topology-optimized bulk metallic glass cellular materials for energy absorption. Scripta Materialia, 208, 114361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114361

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 16, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Oct 29, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Deposit Date: Sep 20, 2023
• Journal: Scripta Materialia
• Print ISSN: 1359-6462
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 208
• Pages: 114361
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114361
• Keywords: Condensed Matter Physics; General Materials Science; Mechanics of Materials; Metals and Alloys; Mechanical Engineering
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1744626
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Topology-optimized bulk metallic glass cellular materials for energy absorption; Journal Title: Scripta Materialia; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114361; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2021 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.