Structural Cellular Materials

What Is It?

The Structural Cellular Materials (SCM) program supports research in the structural, thermal and fluid/structural aspects of cellular materials panels with current focus on blast energy absorption, resistance to fragment penetration and thermal management capabilities.

How Does It Work?

The SCM program relates the topology and materials composition of periodic cellular structures with the mechanical and physical processes involved during their response to complex 2-D and 3-D loads under static and dynamic (shock and fragmentation) events. The program also investigates the ability of such structures to dissipate thermal energy by heat transfer from fluids interacting with the open-celled topology of cellular structures.

What Will It Accomplish?

The SCM program will establish protocols for designing structures that maximize blast energy absorption and fragment penetration resistance to materials and structural failure criteria and failure maps to enable design for minimum structural weight. It will establish a fundamental understanding of fluid-structure interaction between air, water or soil-entrained blast waves and cellular metal structures. Fluid-thermal flow models for cellular structures designed for thermal management systems will be developed.

Cellular materials structures have  solid surfaces or face sheets and cores with complex architectures which may be more than 95 percent voids. These are similar to foams, but with aperiodic rather than stochastic structure. ONR’s SCM program has supported research in the processing, mechanics and thermal management aspects (fluid/flow interactions, fluid/structural interactions and heat transport mechanisms) of cellular materials structures as a function of structural topologies and materials selection. It is believed that such materials and structures will be used in future naval systems where force protection (mine-resistant vehicles or ship hull protection), ultra-lightweight structures for sea basing, or enhanced thermal management, would enhance survivability and performance of Navy and Marine Corps systems and platforms.

These materials are designed to maximize load bearing, energy absorbing and thermal dissipation capability while reducing the overall weight of the structure. Anchored by the fundamental understanding developed through the basic and applied research in this area, cellular structures have been fabricated and demonstrate the feasibility for ship structures to reduce the blast effects associated with asymmetric attacks on naval platforms. Cellular structures can also play a significant role in the thermal management in and around heat-producing systems and components. In fact, cellular structures have been demonstrated to effectively control the heat transfer from jet aircraft plumes to naval structures and for effectively dissipating the heat from an aircraft radar cooling system. Current research is focused on blast and fragment resistance to events affecting naval ground vehicles.

This program will provide innovative design options for weight-efficient structures providing increased force protection in critical areas of ships and lighter weight ground vehicles, as well as more efficient heat-removing structures and heat exchangers for a variety of applications (engines and leading edges).

 

Research Challenges and Opportunities:

  • Fluid and solid interactions of blast-entrained shockwaves with structural cellular materials panels
  • High-strain rate (shock) failure mechanisms of structural cellular materials  panels
  • Understand materials responses and interactions to maximize fragmentation penetration resistance during dynamic events
  • Coupled heat transfer and fluid flow models for complex core topologies

Point of Contact:

David A. Shifler
(703) 696-0285
david.shifler@navy.mil

* Some pages on this website provide links which require Adobe Reader to view.