Abstract

Energy is the capacity to do work, and mechanical work is the amount of energy transferred by force. Hence, energy can be represented in the form of deformation obtained by the applied force. Energy transfer is defined in physics when the energy is moved from one place to another or energy is transferred from one form to another form. To make the energy transfer functional, energy should be moved in the right direction, at the right location, at the right time and large enough to produce a difference. If it is possible to make better use of the energy in the right direction at the right moment, the energy efficiency of the structure can be enhanced. This idea leads to the concept of directional energy transfer (DET), which refers to transferring energy from one direction to a specific direction. As force and deformation in the particular direction are responsible for the energy in that particular direction, structural properties like geometry or material can have an impact on DET property of the structure. With the recent development of additive manufacturing, complex structures can be applied to various applications to enhance performances, like a wheel and shoe mid-sole. For example, lattice structures are produced to attain lightweight, maintaining strength and specific mechanical properties. While many works are related to structural strength, there is limited research in DET. In this study, a theoretical approach is proposed to measure the DET of a structure based on the geometry of the structure, which can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of energy transfer. The purpose is to understand the energy transfer behaviour of a structure and to measure if a structure is able to transfer energy from one direction to the desired direction. The designs tested were inspired by lattice structures. However, the tested structures do not represent optimized DET structures. The contributions in this work are developing a more generalized mathematical model to implement the mathematical model to build the concept and measure the structure-property of directional energy transfer. And also the goal includes finding out the validity of the concept from the mathematical and experimental point of view.