The research team at the Smart Materials and Structures lab designed mechanical-induced bistable laminated composites for a broad range of applications, especially in light-weight structures that require switchable curvatures for holding large deformed shapes without any actuation force. The shape of the composite can be tailored individually using two sources of mechanical residual stress. The team studied the effects induced by the different actuation modes on the response of two-source prestressed rectangular laminates.
Strain energy minimization using higher-order displacement polynomials and the Rayleigh-Ritz method were used to calculate actuation forces and the corresponding stables shapes of the composite respectively. Prestrain ratio was identified as key to controlling the bistability of the laminate. The team designed a morphing fender skirt with a bistable elastomeric matrix composite (EMC) to improve vehicle aerodynamics.
Concept of a morphing fender skirt
Relevant journal article with more details:
V.S.C. CHILLARA and M.J. Dapino, “Stability considerations and actuation requirements in bistable laminated composites,” Composite Structures, 184, pp. 1062-1070, 2018.