In accordance with the College of Houston, researchers have developed a brand new class of ceramic constructions that may bend beneath stress, with out breaking. Potential functions for this know-how vary from medical prosthetics to impact-resistant elements in aerospace and robotics, the place light-weight, however robust, supplies are in excessive demand.
Historically identified for his or her brittleness, ceramics typically shatter beneath stress, making them troublesome to make use of in high-impact or adaptive functions. However that will quickly change as a group of College of Houston researchers, led by Maksud Rahman, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Md Shajedul Hoque Thakur, postdoctoral fellow, has proven that origami-inspired shapes with a mushy polymer coating can remodel fragile ceramic supplies into robust, versatile constructions. This work was not too long ago printed in Superior Composites and Hybrid Supplies.
“Ceramics are extremely helpful – biocompatible, light-weight, and sturdy in the appropriate situations – however they fail catastrophically,” mentioned Rahman. “Our purpose was to engineer that failure into one thing extra sleek and safer.”
To do this, the group 3D printed a ceramic construction based mostly on the Miura-ori origami sample, which is a method to fold one thing flat, like paper, so it takes up much less area however stays flat general – after which coated it with a stretchable, biocompatible polymer. The ensuing constructions can deal with stress in methods abnormal ceramics can not. When compressed in numerous instructions, the coated constructions flexed and recovered, whereas their uncoated counterparts cracked or broke.
“The origami geometry gave us mechanical adaptability,” mentioned Thakur. “And the polymer coating launched simply sufficient flexibility to forestall sudden breakage.”
The researchers examined the constructions beneath each static and cyclic compression and backed up their experiments with laptop simulations. The coated variations persistently confirmed better toughness, particularly in instructions the place the unique ceramic was weakest.
“Origami is greater than an artwork – it’s a strong design instrument that may reshape how we strategy challenges in each biomedical and engineering fields,” mentioned Rahman. “This work demonstrates how folding patterns can unlock new functionalities in even essentially the most fragile supplies.”
