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University of Chicago
Jamming with Chicago University
2 of 2
Jamming with Chicago University
Researchers at Chicago University have been jamming using 3D printing, and we don’t mean of the Bob Marley variety either.
Jamming is the physical process by which materials become rigid with increasing density. Quite literally the physics of the traffic ‘jam’ you face routinely is based on the same principle, think of the cars as grains of sand being pushed through a tube, as soon as that tube narrows then resistance is created and the flow of sand (traffic) is slowed dramatically.
This process is of great significance to finding the strongest possible shapes something, which Prof. Heinrich Jaeger’s research group are obsessed with. Using a software programme to create particle shapes it will simulate pressure onto an infinite number of shapes and see which proffered the most resistance. With the aid of a 3D printer the team have been create a physical version of the strongest shapes and carry out these tests. A 3D printer can accurately replicate the complex geometry and mathematics that goes into each shape, something that is not possible by hand.
This kind of research has a practical use too, by finding the strongest and softest shapes of granular material it will allow construction to know exactly how much pressure can be applied to a foundation.
