Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 1 No. 3 | Page 16

featu

16

Making small

BIG

For years, scientists and engi
synthesized materials at the na
take advantage of their mecha
energy properties, but efforts
materials to larger sizes have r
ished performance and structu

Now, researchers led by Xiao
Zheng, an assistant professor o
engineering at Virginia Tech, h
a study in the journal Nature M
describes a new process to cre
strong, and super-elastic 3-D p
nanostructured materials with
scalability, a full seven orders o
control of arbitrary 3-D archite

Strikingly, these multiscale m
have displayed super elasticity
designed hierarchical 3-D arch
ment and nanoscale hollow tu
in more than a 400 percent inc
elasticity over conventional lig
and ceramic foams.

The approach, which produc
of 3-D hierarchical lattices with
tures, could be useful anywhe
for a combination of stiffness,
weight, and high flexibility — s
tures to be deployed in space,
lightweight vehicles, and batte