3 ms·
Maybe this is what she was getting at when making the comparison to bone structures, but from seeing how it deforms under load in the video, it seems that to re
by willyt 11y ago
Maybe this is what she was getting at when making the comparison to bone structures, but from seeing how it deforms under load in the video, it seems that to realise its potential for serious structural applications this needs to be bonded between two sheets of material to form a composite structure that works like a 'space frame'.[0]
This would allow the fabrication of large stiff arbitrarily shaped panels to form monocoque structures. I would imagine that you could even replace large parts of the conventional rib and skin structure of an aircraft with this eventually. The trickiest problem will be transmitting loads through panel joints.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_frame https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_frame
- willyt 11y agoAlso it would be be cool if the density of the lattice could be varied. Bone structure is a great example of this, it's a 3D Voroni diagram where areas of smaller cells are indicative of stress concentrations.
- oatmealsnap 11y agoI'm still failing to see how this material would provide strength. In a composite structure like you suggested, the two sheets could still crush the microlattice on the inside. It doesn't seem stronger than foam during compression, so the fact that it returns to its original shape seem pointless. What am I not seeing?
- Abraln 11y agoI agree completely. Without knowing the spring constant it is tough to say. Although, if they could increase it using thicker tubes it could have applications as shock absorbers in landing gear. I would not be too surprised if they just went as light as they could for the press release. In the end, without a list of mechanical properties it is impossible to say. On the other hand, it could be completely useless and they just wanted to get some good PR out of a failed idea.