Funded Pump Prime Projects

Round 1

After review by the UK Metamaterials Network’s (UKMMN) independent assessment panel the following projects have been funded. The UKMMN was highly impressed by the range and quality of submissions to the first round of the Pump Prime Fund.

Funded Pump Prime Projects Round 1

Applicant	University
Professor Andrew Alderson	Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Finn Box	University of Manchester
Professor Jordan Cheer	University of Southampton

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Professor Andrew Alderson – Sheffield Hallam

‘Auxetic Liquid Crystal Elastomer (LCE) composite laminate mechanical metamaterials’

ABSTRACT

The Auxetic Polymers section of the emerging UKMMN Mechanical Metamaterials (MM) roadmap identifies recently reported liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) as exciting auxetic materials with significant opportunity to realise real-world applications. Identified challenges include tuning the elastic moduli and strain threshold for auxetic response. A wide-ranging composite materials programme is recommended to more closely identify potential LCE applications. Rational design of composite laminates has shown enhanced stiffness through synergistic interaction of auxetic and non-auxetic layers, with significant light-weighting potential through more efficient use of material, lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in transport applications. We will extend the enhanced stiffness laminate concept to LCEs, and tune the auxetic strain threshold through use of pre-stressed LCE layers. This will provide preliminary data to a major proposal for the envisaged wide-ranging MM composite programme.

SIGs: Mechanical Metamaterials; Theory, Modelling & AI

Challenge Areas: Health; Manufacturing; Space & Aviation; Sustainability; Discovery Science

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Dr Finn Box – University of Manchester

‘Metamaterials ride the waves!’

ABSTRACT

This proposal focuses on researching how mechanical metamaterials at an air-liquid interface absorb wave energy and thereby dampen propagating waves. We propose fabricating small-scale platforms and assembling them together into a collective superstructure using elastic tethers. The precise arrangement of connected platforms will be inspired by the geometric architecture of auxetic materials. We will perform experiments on platform arrays in a wave tank that permits (i) imaging the dynamic reconfiguration of the superstructure due to incoming waves and (ii) measuring the resultant attenuation of passing waves. The magnitude of wave damping will provide an estimate of the amount of energy that can be absorbed through elastic deformation of the platform array. Results on wave damping will help identify assembly arrangements that protect coastal biodiversity and infrastructure by mitigating shoreline erosion from increased wave action, including the enhanced probability of rogue waves.

SIGs: Mechanical Metamaterials

Challenge Areas: Manufacturing

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Professor Jordon Cheer – University of Southampton

‘A synergetic elastic metamaterial’

ABSTRACT

Locally resonant elastic metamaterials use oscillating masses to exert a controlling force on the material. At low frequencies this force is limited by the magnitude of the moving mass, but increasing this means an increase in the total mass of the system. In applications such as aerospace, this would mean an increase in fuel consumption, and the additional weight would require greater strength in connecting and supporting components. This project will investigate the concept of a synergetic elastic metamaterial for vibration control in multiple frequency bands, where energy harvesting techniques are used to capture energy from higher frequency vibration to provide the power to amplify the displacement of low frequency resonant substructures, thereby increasing the reaction force on the structure without increasing mass. This approach to increasing low frequency vibration control could lead to lighter structures, reducing material and fuel consumption in a variety of applications.

SIGs: Active Metamaterials; Mechanical Metamaterials

Challenge Areas: Space & Aviation; Sustainability