Cross-Cutting Research in AM2
The Johns Hopkins Center for Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials (JAM2) brings together faculty, staff, students, and post-docs to conduct cross-cutting research in the design, manufacturing, and characterization of additive manufacturing and architected materials, aiming to revolutionize performance for a broad array of engineering applications, including aviation, automotive, defense, energy, healthcare, and space.
Manufacturing
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional manufacturing and is transforming the way we design, build, and utilize products. JAM2 aims to develop economic, fast, and reliable AM processes for devices with unprecedented design freedom – and to translate the solutions to industrial scale, where they enable applications ranging from high-performance materials, to customized medical devices, to integrated robotics.
Design
Both Additive Manufacturing and Architected Materials enlarge the design space for engineers, providing new opportunities for realizing unprecedented levels of efficiency, multi functionality, and innovation. Researchers at JAM2 are creating new design methods, algorithms and software tools based on topology optimization, and are customizing these tools to properly account for the unique capabilities of AM processes and materials while meeting the complex requirements of modern applications.
Characterization & Testing
The microstructure of additively manufactured materials and resultant material properties are driven by unique, in some cases extreme, processing conditions. Â Characterization and experimental testing activities at JAM2 seek to elucidate processing-structure-property relations, observe resultant geometries and variations, and quantify unique material properties that can leveraged to enhance design and performance.
Materials Development
Materials are the fundamental building block of any object, as they determine its physical properties and visual appearance. In Additive Manufacturing (AM), material properties depend on the processing feedstock and parameters, where the attainable maximum is usually no higher than that of the bulk materials. JAM2 aims to overcome these limitations by developing novel materials systems, including for process compatibility, and utilizes AM to enable unique materials and property combinations, such as high conductivity and dielectricity.
Modeling
From predicting wave propagation in architected materials to properly capturing failure mechanisms, JAM2 researchers are exploring the mechanics of architected materials and developing new models to predict and understand the behavior of these new materials, from micro- to meso- to macro-scales.
Applications
Capturing application-relevant design requirements and manufacturing and operating environments is where things get really interesting. JAM2 researchers are leveraging their AM2 research to find creative and effective solutions to real-world design challenges through collaborations with industry and government research laboratories.