b'Look-AheadA STRONGER SANDWICHS abrina Nilufars research involves sandwiches but not the kind that are eaten.Instead,theSouthernIllinois University, Carbondale researcher hopes to improve the ultrastrong sandwich materials hidden in the sleek, smooth and shiny car panels and airplane wings that people trust with their lives.An assistant professor at SIU Car-bondales School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Materials Engineer-ing, Nilufaris working on ways to more easily construct these ubiqui- Russell Baileytous materials, improving efficiencySabrina Nilufar, assistant professor at SIU Carbondales School of Mechanical, Aerospace whilesavingtimeandenergy.andMaterialsEngineering, is working on ways to more easily and efficiently construct so-called sandwich materials used in everything from automotive to marine and aerospace applications.She recently received a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Nationalplex geometries found in nature toture. Her approach will integrate nu-Science Foundation to study how toimprove strength and weight ratios. merical and experimental methods make specially designed structuresThe aim of my research is to setto find out what manufacturers might using additive manufacturing, onea solid foundation of manufacturingachieve using additive processes.of the fastest-emerging engineer- sandwiches with TPMS-based coreWe want to fundamentally un-ing research areas in the world. lattice for specific engineering ap- derstand how structured core lat-Sandwich structures generallyplications, Nilufar said. tice architecture improves the me-consist of two outer face sheets sep- Although sandwich structures arechanical and thermal properties of arated by a lightweight, low-densityused in many manufacturing pro- sandwich structures, Nilufar said.core structure or foam. The engi- cesses, the main limiting factor liesAdditive manufacturing refers to neering concept has found its wayin whats between the face sheets,creating an object one layer at a time, into myriad applications, includingwhich act as the bread. The to- usually using a 3D printing process, aerospace, sport, marine, military,pology of the middle, or core, of thewhich can deliver highly complex or thermal insulation, vibration andsandwich majorly impacts the over- even combination parts with added acoustic isolation, and automotive. all performance of the structure instrength. Common applications in-The traditional manufacturing pro- terms of weight, strength, thermalclude building ducts for environ-cess for sandwich materials, how- properties and other factors. mental control systems, custom cos-ever, can be wasteful and limited. InDepending on the geometry ofmetic aircraft interior components contrast, additive manufacturing al- the core, such factors can be im- and rocket engine components.lows builders to fabricate objects orproved or diminished in function.Engineers say additive manufac-custom-tailor parts with complex ge- Engineers theorize about new coreturing can offer advantages, includ-ometries directly from the 3D mod- structures but at this point knowing a relatively low cost for acquir-els to meet specific applications. little because of limitations in theing equipment, less waste, improved The additive manufacturing pro- manufacturing process. energy efficiency and easier inven-cess may hold the key to increasedWorking in her laboratory at SIU,tory management. The process also efficiency and better-quality parts,Nilufar hopes to reveal the mecha- may make it easier to do short runs of especially when combined with triplynisms and thermomechanical prop- rarely needed parts or to create hard-periodic minimal surface architec- erties of various core structures thatto-find parts for older machines.CTEture. TPMS architecture uses com- can be created with TPMS architec-Tim Crosbyctemag.com/cteguide.com53LookAhead.indd 53 8/17/22 1:45 PM'