Programmable Composites: From Lightweight, Strong Aerospace Structures to Soft, Shape-Reconfigurable Robotic Surfaces

Creating engineered materials that have not only unprecedented, but also dynamically tunable physical properties remains an ultimate pursuit by many scientists and engineers. Although novel manufacturing breakthroughs, most notably additive manufacturing, have greatly expanded our ability to manipulate material compositions and architectures across a wide range of length scales, many of these technologies still face limitations in scalability, material compatibility, and design versatility, among others. In addition, most advanced materials and structures are “static” – i.e., unable to reprogram post fabrication. In this talk, I will discuss new materials, manufacturing methods, and characterization techniques that enable an integrated pathway towards creating dynamically reprogrammable, multifunctional materials with unusual capabilities. First, I will describe the design, fabrication, and characterization approaches that exploit aligned carbon nanotubes and in situ synchrotron radiation computed tomography for creating a hierarchically engineered, aerospace composite with enhanced laminate-level strength and toughness. Next, I will present a soft, robotic surface that incorporates liquid metal networks in low-modulus elastomer matrices, capable of fast, reversible shape-morphing into a diverse set of complex 3D shapes on demand. I will conclude by discussing new possibilities in developing future material systems with unique programmable functionalities by integrating these enabling concepts with artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches.