Mechanical Response of Hyperuniform Inspired Structures: Integrating Characterization, Experiments, and Modeling

Theoretically, hyperuniform-inspired structures may exhibit high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight properties which are important in defense, aerospace, and biomedical applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) provides a unique opportunity to design these structures; however, the current state-of-the-art AM techniques introduce manufacturing defects which may degrade stiffness and lead to material failure. In this work, we use x-ray imaging to characterize micron-scale defects in additively manufactured hyperuniform structures, conduct mechanical loading experiments with in-situ imaging to study local and global material response, and develop computational modeling approaches to better understand the role of defects and microstructure on both macroscale scale and microscale response. Our long-term goal is to link the degree of disorder with the stiffness and strength of lattice materials.