Research

Lightweighting Plus
A major benefit of metamaterial composites are their low density, but lots of materials – foam, honeycomb, other composites – are lightweight. The “plus” comes from the ability of metamaterials to be made with commodity resins, produced with scalable manufacturing methods, and readily integrated into existing products.

Thermal and mechanical stress compensation
Metamaterial composites maintain structural integrity while expanding or softening as required. They can replace materials like elastomers where environmental conditions are too extreme for long-term survivability.

Thermal management
Avoid the trade-offs with insulating materials like foams, wools, aerogels, and vacuum insulated panels. Metamaterial composites are cost effective, can be designed with high R-values, and offer better shear strength and increased material life span.

Auxetic properties
Auextic means a material will grow when pulled and shrink when pushed. Press-fit options for metamaterials could benefit a range of industries, including building construction where spray foam is unreliable and suffers long-term compressive strength degradation.

Acoustic engineering
Metamaterial composites can start as a flat sheet which then has curves or creases built into it. This shape can be conformed to architectural surfaces and have a texture that promotes acoustic dampening or sharpening.

Part consolidation
Multiple objectives can be performed simultaneously, reducing the number of parts and assembly time required. An example would be an electric vehicle battery box that’s structurally lightweight with a built-in cooling system.