Additively manufactured lattice structures for vibration attenuation

Advancements in additive manufacturing technology have allowed the realisation of geometrically complex structures with enhanced capabilities in comparison to solid structures. One of these capabilities is vibration attenuation which is of paramount importance for the precision and accuracy of metrology and machining instruments. In this project, new additively manufactured lattice structures are proposed for achieving vibration attenuation. The ability of these lattices to provide vibration attenuation at frequencies greater than their natural frequency was studied first. This is referred to as vibration isolation. For the vibration isolation study, a combination of finite element modelling and an experimental setup comprising a dynamic shaker and laser vibrometer was used. The natural frequencies obtained from the experimental results were 93 % in agreement with the simulated results. However, vibration attenuation was demonstrated only along one dimension and vibration waves were allowed to propagate, meaning the transmissibility was allowed to be greater than 0 dB. To achieve lower transmissibility, the project demonstrated that lattice structures can develop Bragg-scattering and internal resonance bandgaps. The bandgaps were identified from the lattices' dispersion curves calculated using a finite element based wave propagation modelling technique. Triply periodic minimal surface lattices and strut-based lattices developed Bragg-scattering bandgaps with a normalised bandgap frequency (wavelength divided by cell size) of ~ 0.2. The bandgap of the tested lattices was demonstrated to be tunable with the volume fraction of the lattice unit cell, thus, providing a tool to design lattice structures with bandgaps at required frequencies. An internal resonance mechanism in the form of a solid cube or sphere with struts was designed into the inner core of the unit cell of strut-based lattices. These new internal resonance lattices can provide (a) lower frequency bandgaps than Bragg-scattering lattices within the same design volume, and/or (b) comparable bandgaps frequencies with reduced unit cell dimensions. In comparison to lattices of higher normalised bandgap frequencies, lattices with lower normalised bandgap frequencies have cell sizes that are more suitable for manufacturing with the current additive manufacturing technologies and have higher periodicity within a constrained design volume, resulting in higher attenuation within the bandgaps and more homogenous structures. Similar to the Bragg-scattering lattices, the bandgaps of the internal resonance lattices were demonstrated to be tunable through modification of the geometry of the lattice unit cell. The internal resonance lattice experimentally demonstrated a bandgap of normalised frequency between 0.039 to 0.067 and an attenuation of up to -77 dB. These results are essential for engineering vibration attenuation capabilities within the macro-scale of materials for complete elimination of all mechanical vibration waves at tailorable frequencies. Future work will include further reduction of the bandgap frequencies and increasing the bandgap width by exploring new unit cell designs and new materials for additive manufacturing

Additively manufactured lattice structures for vibration attenuation

Advancements in additive manufacturing technology have allowed the realisation of geometrically complex structures with enhanced capabilities in comparison to solid structures. One of these capabilities is vibration attenuation which is of paramount importance for the precision and accuracy of metrology and machining instruments. In this project, new additively manufactured lattice structures are proposed for achieving vibration attenuation. The ability of these lattices to provide vibration attenuation at frequencies greater than their natural frequency was studied first. This is referred to as vibration isolation. For the vibration isolation study, a combination of finite element modelling and an experimental setup comprising a dynamic shaker and laser vibrometer was used. The natural frequencies obtained from the experimental results were 93 % in agreement with the simulated results. However, vibration attenuation was demonstrated only along one dimension and vibration waves were allowed to propagate, meaning the transmissibility was allowed to be greater than 0 dB. To achieve lower transmissibility, the project demonstrated that lattice structures can develop Bragg-scattering and internal resonance bandgaps. The bandgaps were identified from the lattices' dispersion curves calculated using a finite element based wave propagation modelling technique. Triply periodic minimal surface lattices and strut-based lattices developed Bragg-scattering bandgaps with a normalised bandgap frequency (wavelength divided by cell size) of ~ 0.2. The bandgap of the tested lattices was demonstrated to be tunable with the volume fraction of the lattice unit cell, thus, providing a tool to design lattice structures with bandgaps at required frequencies. An internal resonance mechanism in the form of a solid cube or sphere with struts was designed into the inner core of the unit cell of strut-based lattices. These new internal resonance lattices can provide (a) lower frequency bandgaps than Bragg-scattering lattices within the same design volume, and/or (b) comparable bandgaps frequencies with reduced unit cell dimensions. In comparison to lattices of higher normalised bandgap frequencies, lattices with lower normalised bandgap frequencies have cell sizes that are more suitable for manufacturing with the current additive manufacturing technologies and have higher periodicity within a constrained design volume, resulting in higher attenuation within the bandgaps and more homogenous structures. Similar to the Bragg-scattering lattices, the bandgaps of the internal resonance lattices were demonstrated to be tunable through modification of the geometry of the lattice unit cell. The internal resonance lattice experimentally demonstrated a bandgap of normalised frequency between 0.039 to 0.067 and an attenuation of up to -77 dB. These results are essential for engineering vibration attenuation capabilities within the macro-scale of materials for complete elimination of all mechanical vibration waves at tailorable frequencies. Future work will include further reduction of the bandgap frequencies and increasing the bandgap width by exploring new unit cell designs and new materials for additive manufacturing

Optimal design of rainbow metamaterials

Nonperiodic metamaterials with appropriately designed resonator distributions can have superior vibration attenuation capabilities compared to periodic metamaterials. In this study, we present an optimization scheme for the resonator distribution in rainbow metamaterials that are constitutive of a Π-shaped beam with parallel plate insertions and spatially varying cantilever-mass resonators. To improve the vibration attenuation of rainbow metamaterials at specific design frequencies, two optimization strategies are proposed, aiming at minimizing the maximum and average receptance values. Objective functions are set up with the frequency response functions predicted by the displacement transfer matrix model. The masses of the two sets of resonators, clamped at different side walls of the Π-shaped beams, constitute the set of design variables. Optimization functions are solved using a genetic algorithm method. Results of case studies showed that the receptance values of the nonperiodic metamaterial is greatly reduced within the optimization frequency range, in comparison to the periodic metamaterial

Metamaterials for simultaneous acoustic and elastic bandgaps

In this work, we present a single low-profile metamaterial that provides bandgaps of acoustic and elastic waves at the same time. This was done by ensuring impedance mismatch in two different domains, the fluid domain where the acoustic waves propagate and the solid domain where the elastic waves propagate. Through creatively designing the metamaterial, waves of certain nature and frequencies of interest were completely blocked in the solid and fluid domains simultaneously. The simulation results showed bandgaps with acoustic waves attenuation below 5 kHz and elastic waves attenuation below 10 kHz. The acoustic and elastic dispersion curves of the metamaterials were calculated for various designs with various diameters and neck lengths, and the bandgaps were calculated. These parameters can be used as means for tuning both the acoustic and elastic bandgaps. A representative design of the metamaterial was manufactured on a laser powder bed fusion system and the dynamic performance was measured at various points. The measurements were carried out using a dynamic shaker setup and the dynamic performance was in good agreement with the numerical modelling results. Such metamaterials can be used for simultaneous acoustic and elastic attenuation, as well as saving in space and material consumption, in various fields including building construction, automobile, aerospace and rocket design

Multidimensional Phononic Bandgaps in Three-Dimensional Lattices for Additive Manufacturing

We report on numerical modelling of three-dimensional lattice structures designed to provide phononic bandgaps. The examined lattice structures rely on two distinct mechanisms for bandgap formation: the destructive interference of elastic waves and internal resonance. Further to the effect of lattice type on the development of phononic bandgaps, we also present the effect of volume fraction, which enables the designer to control the frequency range over which the bandgaps exist. The bandgaps were identified from dispersion curves obtained using a finite element wave propagation modelling technique that provides high computational efficiency and high wave modelling accuracy. We show that lattice structures employing internal resonance can provide transmissibility reduction of longitudinal waves of up to −103 dB. Paired with the manufacturing freedom and material choice of additive manufacturing, the examined lattice structures can be tailored for use in wide-ranging applications including machine design, isolation and support platforms, metrology frames, aerospace and automobile applications, and biomedical devices

Design and analysis of strut-based lattice structures for vibration isolation

This paper presents the design, analysis and experimental verification of strut-based lattice structures to enhance the mechanical vibration isolation properties of a machine frame, whilst also conserving its structural integrity. In addition, design parameters that correlate lattices, with fixed volume and similar material, to natural frequency and structural integrity are also presented. To achieve high efficiency of vibration isolation and to conserve the structural integrity, a trade-off needs to be made between the frame’s natural frequency and its compressive strength. The total area moment of inertia and the mass (at fixed volume and with similar material) are proposed design parameters to compare and select the lattice structures; these parameters are computationally efficient and straight-forward to compute, as opposed to the use of finite element modelling to estimate both natural frequency and compressive strength. However, to validate the design parameters, finite element modelling has been used to determine the theoretical static and dynamic mechanical properties of the lattice structures. The lattices have been fabricated by laser powder bed fusion and experimentally tested to compare their static and dynamic properties to the theoretical model. Correlations between the proposed design parameters, and the natural frequency and strength of the lattices are presented

Mechanical vibration bandgaps in surface-based lattices

In this paper, the phonon dispersion curves of several surface-based lattices are examined, and their energy transmission spectra, along with the corresponding bandgaps are identified. We demonstrate that these bandgaps may be controlled, or tuned, through the choice of cell type, cell size and volume fraction. Our results include two findings of high relevance to the designers of lattice structures: (i) network and matrix phase gyroid lattice structures develop bandgaps below 15 kHz while network diamond and matrix diamond lattices do not, and (ii) the bandwidth of a bandgap in the network phase gyroid lattice can be tuned by adjusting its volume fraction and cell size

Impact damping and vibration attenuation in nematic liquid crystal elastomers.

Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) exhibit unique mechanical properties, placing them in a category distinct from other viscoelastic systems. One of their most celebrated properties is the 'soft elasticity', leading to a wide plateau of low, nearly-constant stress upon stretching, a characteristically slow stress relaxation, enhanced surface adhesion, and other remarkable effects. The dynamic soft response of LCE to shear deformations leads to the extremely large loss behaviour with the loss factor tanδ approaching unity over a wide temperature and frequency ranges, with clear implications for damping applications. Here we investigate this effect of anomalous damping, optimising the impact and vibration geometries to reach the greatest benefits in vibration isolation and impact damping by accessing internal shear deformation modes. We compare impact energy dissipation in shaped samples and projectiles, with elastic wave transmission and resonance, finding a good correlation between the results of such diverse tests. By comparing with ordinary elastomers used for industrial damping, we demonstrate that the nematic LCE is an exceptional damping material and propose directions that should be explored for further improvements in practical damping applications.ERC H202

The Impact of Additive Manufacturing on the Flexibility of a Manufacturing Supply Chain

There is an increasing need for supply chains that can rapidly respond to fluctuating demands and can provide customised products. This supply chain design requires the development of flexibility as a critical capability. To this end, firms are considering Additive Manufacturing (AM) as one strategic option that could enable such a capability. This paper develops a conceptual model that maps AM characteristics relevant to flexibility against key market disruption scenarios. Following the development of this model, a case study is undertaken to indicate the impact of adopting AM on supply chain flexibility from four major flexibility-related aspects: volume, mix, delivery, and new product introduction. An inter-process comparison is implemented in this case study using data collected from a manufacturing company that produces pipe fittings using Injection Moulding (IM). The supply chain employing IM in this case study shows greater volume and delivery flexibility levels (i.e., 65.68% and 92.8% for IM compared to 58.70% and 75.35% for AM, respectively) while the AM supply chain shows greater mix and new product introduction flexibility, indicated by the lower changeover time and cost of new product introduction to the system (i.e., 0.33 h and €0 for AM compared to 4.91 h and €30,000 for IM, respectively). This work will allow decision-makers to take timely decisions by providing useful information on the effect of AM adoption on supply chain flexibility in different sudden disruption scenarios such as demand uncertainty, demand variability, lead-time compression and product variety