Phase transforming cellular materials (PXCMs) are a new class of materials that can go through large deformation and return to their original configuration. Currently, there are reliable cellular materials that can resist large deformation, for example, honey comb; however, when these materials are compared to PXCMs, they cannot stay in their elastic range. The biggest advantage about PXCMs is that they are not only inexpensive materials, but they are also highly-durable and they absorb and dissipate high amounts of energy. The main concept behind PXCMs is that they contain unit cells that have stable configurations. Each stable configuration of the unit cell corresponds to a phase. The transition between these phases are interpreted as phase-transformation of the cellular material. Our approach to this project is to create a simulation tool that will predict the mechanical behavior of a PXCM. The tool will have a GUI interface where users can input the information of the unit cell of the PXCMs that they want to model. When the tool is executed, the simulation will present a graph representative of the output. The output displays phases and stable configuration of the material in a force vs displacement graph of a M rows by N columns of PXCMs. The purpose of this interactive tool is to serve as a visual aid for users who want to learn more about PXCMs and also create more complex and sophisticated PXCMs designs. Successful implementation of this tool will contribute positively in creating design guidelines for a new PXCM with improved energy absorption and dissipation.

NCN Summer Undergraduate Research Experience 2017, National Science Foundation

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Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Chidubem Nuela Enebechi, Yunlan Zhang, David Restrepo Arango, Pablo Daniel Zavattieri, Nilesh Mankame (2017), "Modelling of Phase Transforming Cellular Material (PXCM)," https://nanohub.org/resources/26939.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. cellular materials
2. deformation
3. materials science
4. material structure
5. NCN SURF
6. NCN URE
7. PXCM
8. Simulation
9. undergraduate research