Damping and Vibration Control via Nanoscale Technologies for Defense Oriented Applications

This paper discusses the potential of nanoscale technologies with particular attention devoted to applications in the defense area. Innovative techniques for structural damping and vibration control are of much interest to the Structures and Dynamics Program at the United States Army Research Office (ARO). Since nanotechnology is a new and different way of thinking about the creation of devices and systems, it holds much promise for such applications. Nanotechnology can be gainfully employed to create and utilize materials, devices, and systems through the control of matter on the nanometer-length scale, i.e., to engineer matter at the level of atoms and molecules, leading to the generation of larger structures having fundamentally new molecular organizations exhibiting novel physical, chemical, and biological properties and phenomena. In addition to describing an overview of nanotechnology and its relevance to the defense needs, the paper describes a few of the currently ongoing projects under the ARO sponsorship.