Investigation on the Mechanical Properties and Shape Memory Effect of Landing Buffer Structure Based on NiTi Alloy Printing

With the deepening of human research on deep space exploration,our research on the soft landing methods of landers has gradually deepened.Adding a buffer and energy-absorbing structure to the leg structure of the lander has become an effective design solution.Based on the energy-absorbing structure of the leg of the interstellar lander,this paper studies the appearance characteristics of the predatory feet of the Odontodactylus scyllarus.The predatory feet of the Odontodactylus scyllarus can not only hit the prey highly when preying,but also can easily withstand the huge counter-impact force.The predatory feet structure of the Odontodactylus scyllarus,like a symmetrical cone,shows excellent rigidity and energy absorption capacity.Inspired by this discovery,we used SLM technology to design and manufacture two nickel-titanium samples,which respectively show high elasticity,shape memory,and get better energy absorption capacity.This research provides an effective way to design and manufacture high-mechanical energy-absorbing buffer structures using bionic 3D printing technology and nickel-titanium alloys.

Study of Cracking Mechanism and Wear Resistance in Laser Cladding Coating of Ni-based Alloy

Nickel-based alloy coatings were widely used for the remanufacturing of dies and moulds by laser cladding,but the crack sensitivity would be increase due to the higher strength and hardness,which reduced the wear resistance of Ni-based alloys.In this paper,Ni-based coatings with the addition of a plastic phase(an austenitic stainless net)were prepared using laser cladding technology,and the CeO_(2)was added in cladding layers.The cracking mechanism,microhardness,microstructure,phase composition,and wear properties were investigated.The relationship between thermal stress and the elastic and plastic fracture had been developed from the standpoint of fracture mechan-ics and thermal elastic fracture mechanics.The fracture criterion of the nickel-based coating was obtained,and the study has shown that the crack sensitivity could be reduced by decreasing the thermal expansion coefficientΔα.Thus,a new method was proposed,which the stainless steel nets were prefabricated on the substrate.It was found that the number of cracks reduced significantly with the addition of stainless steel net.When the stainless steel net with 14 mesh was added in Ni-based coatings,the average microhardness of nickel composite coating was 565 HV_(0.2),which was 2.6 times higher than that of the 45 steel substrate.Although the rare earth oxide 4 wt.%CeO_(2)and stainless steel net were added in the Ni-based coating reducing the microhardness(the average microhardness is 425 HV_(0.2)),the wear resistance of it improved substantially.The wear volume of Ni-based composite coating was 0.56×10^(−5) mm^(3)·N^(−1)·m^(−1),which was 85.1%lower than that of 45 steel.The experiment results have shown that the Nickel-based composite coating is equipped with low crack sensitivity and high abrasive resistance with austenitic stainless net and the rare earth oxide 4 wt.%CeO2.This research offers an efficient solution to produce components with low crack susceptibility and high wear-resistance coatings fabricated by laser cladding.

Development of wet adhesion of honeybee arolium incorporated polygonal structure with three-phase composite interfaces

Inspired by the dynamic wet adhesive systems in nature,various artificial adhesive surfaces have been developed but still face different challenges.Crucially,the theoretical mechanics of wet adhesives has never been sufficiently revealed.Here,we develop a novel adhesive mechanism for governing wet adhesion and investigate the biological models of honeybee arolium for reproducing the natural wet adhesive systems.Micro-nano structures of honeybee arolium and arolium-prints were observed by Cryogenic scanning electron microscopy(Cryo-SEM),and the air pockets were found in the contact interface notably.Subsequently,the adhesive models with a three-phase composite interface(including air pockets,liquid secretion,and hexagonal frames of arolium),were formed to analyze the wet adhesion of honeybee arolium.The results of theoretical calculations and experiments indicated an enhanced adhesive mechanism of the honeybee by liquid self-sucking effects and air-embolism effects.Under these effects,normal and shear adhesion can be adjusted by controlling the proportion of liquid secretion and air pockets in the contact zone.Notably,the air-embolism effects contribute to the optimal coupling of smaller normal adhesion with greater shear adhesion,which is beneficial for the high stride frequency of honeybees.These works can provide a fresh perspective on the development of bio-inspired wet adhesive surfaces.

Mechanical Characteristics Analysis of 3D-printing Novel Chiral Honeycomb Array Structures Based on Functional Principle and Constitutive Relationship

Four novel chiral honeycomb structures inspired by the biological arrangement shape are designed.The functional principle is raised to solve the large deformation of bio-inspired structures and the structural constitutive model is proposed to explain the quasi-static mechanical properties of chiral honeycomb array structures and honeycomb structures.Simulation and experiment results verify the accuracy of theoretical analysis results and the errors are all within 15%.In structural mechanical properties,Equidimensional Chiral Honeycomb Array Structure(ECHS)has excellent mechanical properties.Among ECHS,Small-sized Column Chiral Honeycomb Array Structure(SCHCS)has the best properties.The bearing capacity,specific energy absorption,and specific strength of SCHCS are more than twice as much as the others in this paper.The chiral honeycomb array structure has the best mechanical properties at a certain size.In the structural design,the optimal size model should be obtained first in combination with the optimization algorithm for the protection design.

Compression Behavior and Failure Mechanisms of Bionic Porous NiTi Structures Built via Selective Laser Melting

Inspired by the crystal microstructure of metals and the bamboo,the bionic porous NiTi structures with the porosities in the range of 75.8%–84.9%were built via selective laser melting(SLM).The compression behavior and the failure mechanisms of the porous NiTi structures were evaluated.It demonstrated an increase in the elastic modulus and ultimate strength when the porosity was decreased,from 3.06 to 7.66 GPa and from 34.1 to 147.6 MPa,respectively.The relationship between the elastic modulus and the porosity obtained by the finite element analysis exhibited similar tendency with the experiment,and agreed well with the Gibson-Ashby model’s prediction.Based on the theoretical model above and the observation of the deformation processing,the plastic deformation behavior and failure mechanisms of the SLMed porous NiTi structures were analyzed.

Pomelo Peel-Inspired 3D-Printed Porous Structure for Efficient Absorption of Compressive Strain Energy

The porous structure in pomelo peel is believed to be responsible for the protection of its fruit from damage during the free falling from a tree.The quantitative understanding of the relationship between the deformation behavior and the porous structure could pave the way for the design of porous structures for efficient energy absorption.Here,a universal feature of pore distribution in pomelo peels along the radial direction is extracted from three varieties of pomelos,which shows strong correlation to the deformation behavior of the peels under compression.Guided by the porous design found in pomelo peels,porous polyether-ether-ketone(PEEK)cube is additively manufactured and possesses the highest ability to absorb energy during compression as compared to the non-pomelo-inspired geometries,which is further confirmed by the finite element simulation.The nature-optimized porous structure revealed here could guide the design of lightweight and high-energy-dissipating materials/devices.

Shock-Resistant and Energy-Absorbing Properties of Bionic NiTi Lattice Structure Manufactured by SLM

Each specific structure of organisms is the best choice under specific circumstances.The excellent characteristic structures of these organisms have great application potential in the design and multi-functional optimization of energy-absorbing structures such as vehicle collisions,satellite landings,and military equipment.In this paper,using the principle of structural bionics,using the advantages of the honeycomb structure and the light weight and high strength of beetle elytra,four bionic lattice structures are studied:CH,ZPRH,SCH and IBE.Using NiTi shape memory alloy,a unique material as the base material,samples are prepared using selective laser melting(SLM)technology.By comparing the test results of the quasi-static compression test with the results of the numerical simulation,it is found that compared with the other three bionic lattice structures,the SCH structure has the best energy absorption effect in the effective stroke in the test,and the specific energy absorption can reach 6.32 J/g.ZPRH,SCH,and IBE structures not only have good and stable deformation behavior,but also have excellent impact resistance and shape memory properties.The design of these structures provides a reference for the design of anti-shock cushioning structures with self-recovery functions in the future.

Study on Functional Mechanical Performance of Honeycomb Array Structures Inspired by Gideon Beetle

To obtain bio-inspired structures with superior biological function,four bio-inspired structures named regular arrangement honeycomb structure(RAHS),staggered arrangement honeycomb structure(SAHS),floral arrangement honeycomb structure(FLAHS)and functional arrangement honeycomb structure(FUAHS)are designed by observing the microstructure of the Gideon beetle,based on the optimal size bio-inspired cells by response surface method(RSM)and particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithm.According to Euler theory and buckling failure theory,compression deformation properties of bio-inspired structures are explained.Experiments and simulations further verify the accuracy of theoretical analysis results.The results show that energy absorption of FLAHS is,respectively,increased by 26.95%,22.85%,and 121.45%,compared with RAHS,SAHS,and FUAHS.Elastic modulus of FLAHS is 110.37%,110.37%,and 230.56% of RAHS,SAHS,and FUAHS,respectively.FLAHS perfectly inherits crashworthiness and energy absorption properties of the Gideon beetle,and FLAHS has the most stable force.Similarly,RAHS,SAHS,and FUAHS,respectively,inherit mechanical properties of the Gideon beetle top horn,the Gideon beetle middle horn,and the abdomen of the beetle.This method,designing bio-inspired structures with biological functions,can be introduced into the engineering field requiring the special function.

Adhesion and corrosion resistance of polycaprolactone coating on NiTi alloy surface after alkali heat pretreatment

Selective laser melting of nickel-titanium alloy(SLM-NiTi)can precisely control the size of the sample molding structure and has attracted extensive attention due to its special superelasticity and shape memory effect.However,the biological inertness and poor corrosion resistance of SLM-NiTi alloy limit their wide application as biomedical implant materials.In this study,polycaprolactone(PCL)coating was prepared on SLM-NiTi alloy by dipping and pulling method,and the effects of alkali heat pretreatment on the morphology,adhesion,corrosion resistance,long-term stability and biomineralisation of the PCL coatings were investigated.The results showed that PCL coating can substan-tially improve the performance of SLM-NiTi alloy,and the PCL coating after alkali heat pretreatment has higher adhesion(increased from 1,747 to 2,498 mN)and lower corrosion current density(reduced by about an order of magnitude compared to PCL coating alone).In addition,the necessary stability,biomineralisation and biocompatibility ability of coatings were also further improved.Therefore,the alkali heat pretreated PCL-coated SLM-NiTi alloy has good application prospects in implants due to its superior properties.