Rib-reinforced thin-wall structures
When a thin-wall structure is loaded in compression, it eventually reaches a point of instability, where the wall buckles out of plane. This buckling results in a loss in stiffness, which accelerates exponentially because of increased bending moment. This phenomena is referred to as an exponential decay function; once a thin-wall structure starts to become unstable, it quickly fails unless the load is removed.
Howard Lindsay with VyaTek Sports developed IsoGrid in order to avoid this phenomena and to help product designers lower the weight of products by making thin-wall structures even thinner. The technology incorporates a continuous fiber reinforced array of raised ribs, which are integrated into thin-wall structures in order to enhance structural integrity, greatly decreasing the chances of collapse.
Contact: VyaTek Sports, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
For more information, see Transmaterial: A Catalog of Materials That Redefine our Physical Environment
