Abstract:
Architected Instability-based Metamaterials (AIMs) are a class of mechanical metamaterials that leverage geometric phase transformations between stable states to achieve exceptional mechanical properties. By precisely designing their geometry and topology, AIMs can undergo large, reversible deformations while dissipating energy without sustaining permanent damage. In addition, by integrating materials with distinct properties at strategic locations, they exhibit shape recovery, enabling reconfiguration in response to external stimuli such as stress and temperature. Inspired by kirigami principles, AIMs can also be compactly folded and autonomously deployed, making them highly adaptable for space applications. Their unique combination of energy dissipation, reconfigurability, and deployability makes them particularly suited for impact attenuation, such as in the landing gear of space rovers, where they provide critical protection for scientific instruments and mission payloads during high-impact landings. This seminar will present the fundamental mechanics of AIMs, their design strategies, and their potential applications in space exploration. We will discuss how AIMs can be engineered for tunable mechanical responses, integrated with kirigami-inspired folding techniques, and enhanced with revolute joint-locking mechanisms for improved deployability. By leveraging these features, AIMs present a transformative approach to developing adaptive, lightweight, and resilient material systems for next-generation space missions.
Bio:
Yunlan Zhang is an Assistant Professor in Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining UT, she served as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, where she developed deployable structures for medical applications. Dr. Zhang earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Purdue University in 2019, with a focus on architected materials designed to replicate the unique properties of shape-memory alloys. She completed her B.S. in Civil Engineering at The Ohio State University in 2012, graduating with honors and conducting a research thesis on the repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete beams.
Dr. Zhang’s research interests span architected materials, deployable structures, and bioinspired design. Her work aims to integrate structural and material innovations to develop advanced structures with applications ranging from microscopic medical devices to large-scale eco-restorative structures and extraterrestrial habitats. She enjoys working with students just as much as conducting research.
Open to all. Attendees external to Imperial need to register by email.
Time: 2:00 pm