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Material with Dynamic Surface Developed


Guest_Jim_*

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We know most materials by their surfaces, if they are bumpy or smooth, slick or rough, and these characteristics can be very important for a variety of applications. For that reason, the ability to alter a material's surface features could be a game-changer in a number of ways, and now researchers at MIT have found a way to do just that. Making the discovery even better is that it should be possible to scale it up as needed.

The researchers started with computer simulations of a material comprised of two polymers, with one being flexible and the other being rigid. By strategically placing particles of the rigid polymer with the matrix of the flexible one, it is possible to control the material's behavior when compressed. The buckling the material would undergo when being squeezed, follows a pattern set by the placement of the rigid polymer particles, so if normally the material is smooth, compressing it would cause ridges to form. The researchers have made the material already with a 3D printer, and because the method is completely based on geometry, it should be possible to scale it to any and all sizes.

There are several applications for materials with dynamic surfaces, such as camouflage and altering fluid turbulence. With further study it may be possible to make these materials even more powerful, by using elongated particles in them, to produce asymmetrical surface patterns, and finding ways to achieve the results with electricity, instead of mechanical compression.

Source: MIT



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