Breaking from conventional monolithic, layered, or woven designs for protective structures (bumpers, armor, etc.), micromanufacturing technology is now maturing to the point where precisely engineered microstructures may soon be possible.  In anticipation of such advances, novel microstructures are being here designed to optimize the ability of protective structures to thwart impact loadings. Preliminary work shows that a variety of specially designed microstructures can distribute structural damage away from an impact site rather than allowing damage to be concentrated at the impact zone. The merits of these design concept are investigated numerically and experimentally in the scope of safety net design.

UofU contributors/collaborators:
S. Leelavanichkul (Research fellow, Mechanical Engineering, UofU)
A. Cherkaev (Prof. of Mathematics, UofU)