Multiscale 3D Printing System for Fabrication of Next Generation Multiscale Architectured Armor Materials
Abstract
Modernization priorities for the United States Army is to make Soldiers and units more lethal. Soldier lethality includes mastering fundamentals of moving, protecting and sustaining. Development of ultra-lightweight body armor systems (helmets, body armor panels) are, in turn, critical for enhancing soldier lethality. Current state-of-the-art body armor systems are primarily made of ceramics and fiber-reinforced polymer composites materials with homogeneous microstructures and properties. In these classes of materials, there are often strength-stiffness-toughness performance trade-offs resulting in overdesign of armor systems. On the other hand, naturally occurring materials exhibit superior properties due to complex hierarchical arrangement of the materials over multiple length scales resulting in heterogeneous properties. While bio-inspired materials design has been extensively studied, they are not yet implemented in practical dimensions suitable for soldier protection systems. The critical barrier is the lack of a fabrication technique to achieve local control over the composition and structure at multiple length scales. The ability to produce materials with desired structure at different length scales remains one of the grand challenges. Multiscale additive manufacturing (AM) 3D printing provides a promising pathway to achieve control of composition and structure over multiple length scales, thus enable fabrication of complex architectures for future armor materials. The University of South Carolina investigators collaboratively propose to develop multiscale AM through acquisition of state-of-the-art light-based and layer-by-layer 3D printing system that will provide unprecedented capability to design and fabricate novel architectured materials with multiscale resolution. Together with existing high performance computational and dynamic impact testing facilities in our department (shared memory cluster, high speed cameras, split Hopkinson pressure bar, shock tube, drop-impact tower), acquisition of the proposed 3D printing system will allow us to uniquely investigate processing-structure-property relationships of additively manufactured advanced composites materials; and enable rapid design of emerging game change materials with spatially tunable superior impact-resistant properties for defense applications. The equipment will support research at the forefront to enable ultra-lightweight soldier protection systems to improve the mobility and survivability of personnel. Specifically, the supported research includes (1) integrated physics-based multi-scale computational, experimental, and data-driven machine learning models to design and manufacture novel multiscale architectured materials with unprecedented multifunctional properties; (2) design of functionally graded foam and soft materials for army applications to mitigate impact loads and injuries sustained by soldiers; (3) manufacture short-fiber/nanoparticle reinforced composites; (4) fundamental understanding of impact response of additively manufactured polymers and composites and (5) fundamental failure mechanisms of energetic materials subjected to intermediate and high strain rate loading. The investigators also plan to use the 3D printing system to research-related education and training for graduate and undergraduate students. Investigators have ongoing collaborations with DoD (ARL) labs and realize continued collaboration is critical to achieve revolutionary breakthroughs in research important to DoD missions. Participation of US students is key for a successful collaboration. Enhancing participation of US students, in particular women, for DoD research areas will be aimed through 3D printing workshops that will include 3D printing of armor helmets, airfoil wings and ship hulls.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 09, 2020
- Source ID
- W911NF2010231
Entities
People
- Subramani Sockalingam
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of South Carolina