3D-printed metamaterials act as shock absorbers
Researchers in the US demonstrate intricate complex structures that dampen vibrations for use in transport and civil engineering.
This 3D printed 'kagome tube' can passively isolate vibrations using its complex, but deliberate, structure
© James McInerney, Air Force Research LaboratoryThe team is led by researchers at the University of Michigan, USA, and the US Air Force Research Laboratory.
The new study is a melding of structural engineering, physics and advanced fabrication technologies, like 3D printing.
The vibration-isolating structures are built up from a repeating lattice that’s then stacked into two layers and wrapped into a tube.
