New metamaterial allows the vehicle to become a "safety cushion" for yourself and passengers

The strength of the material of an object determines what will happen to this object if it is colliding with anything or falling from height. However, researchers from the University of Michigan has developed a complex material, a metamaterial that changes its hardness and strength in response to mild stress, resulting from external forces.

Recall that artificial materials with complex structures, metamaterials, can be endowed with some unique properties never encountered in naturally occurring materials.

As mentioned above, the metamaterial developed at the University of Michigan, is designed to switch from a soft to a solid state if necessary. Applied small stress makes you change strength and surface hardness of this material is several orders of magnitude of its value. It does not suffer from neither the form nor the strength of the object made of such material.



The amazing properties of the new material acquired for the account of its unique spatial lattice structure. It consists of a set of tiny rods linked by a "spacer". Stress causes the rods to change their location relative to each other, the lattice of a material changes its topological properties and the material becomes soft or hard, depending on the vector of the applied voltage. Since the rods absorb and dissipate energy of mechanical action, the material structure does not undergo deformation.



Researchers believe that the material with such remarkable properties have a very wide range of applications. Tires for bicycles, motorcycles and cars, made of a metamaterial that would not require pumping and will be able to adapt to the characteristics of the surface motion. Instead of hiding the airbag in the steering wheel with the new material, you can turn the steering wheel itself in the semblance of a pillow, which at the time of collision "will find" softness and elasticity. Moreover, a large "safety cushion" to turn a car body that will absorb and redistribute impact energy, reducing the level of damage and the consequences of them.

"When this car will move normally, his body will be traditionally tough," says Chaoming Mao (Mao Xiaoming), a leading researcher, "But at the time of the collision, the car body will be elastic rubber, absorbing impact energy and protects the passengers inside it." published

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

 

Source: newatlas.com/metamaterial-changes-hard-soft/47528/