Integrative Graduate
Education and
Research Traineeship

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Particle-Based Thrust Damping Technology

Particle-Based Thrust Damping

Projects:

On A Virtual Tribology System: Future Engineers and...

Institution:

Northwestern University

Primary Strategic Goal:

Discovery: Foster research that will advance the frontiers of knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit and establishing the Nation as a global leader in fundamental transformational science and engineering.

Secondary Strategic Goal:

Research Infrastructure: Build the Nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyber infrastructure, and experimental tools.

Achievement/Results

NSF IGERT-funded researchers at Northwestern University are developing an innovative particle-based thrust damping technology to absorb shock and vibrations in extreme temperature applications. This technology uses nanometer, micrometer and millimeter size dry particles as the damping medium and interfacial interaction as the damping mechanism (Fig. 1). Using damping experiments and particle simulations, the researchers have demonstrated that a particle medium, due to its dual solid and liquid-like behavior, can provide temperature independent and fatigue-free damping performance. In addition, using magnetic fields and magnetic particles, the researchers have developed an active damping system, which can provide tunability and real-time damping control (Fig. 2). This technology can be useful in high performance military, aerospace, automotive, structural as well as industrial applications. Scientifically, this research aims to develop the basic science of inter-particle interaction. It addresses the challenge of multi-scale engineering of complex granular systems: manipulating behavior at the macro-scale by engineering properties at the particle-scale.

Address Goals

It addresses the challenge of multi-scale engineering of complex granular systems: manipulating behavior at the macro-scale by engineering properties at the particle-scale.