Poly elastomers take a beating and bounce right back.
A new method for testing the durability of polymers—courtesy of researchers at the Army Research Lab and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—has revealed that some materials appear to strengthen themselves when struck by rapidly moving objects. These materials could be used in future U.S. Army helmets and armor.
The engineers discovered that when targets made of poly(urethane urea) elastomers (PUUs) are hit at high speed by micro-particles made of silica, the target displays hyper elastic behavior. That is, they become extremely stiff when deformed at strain rates on the order of 108/sec, which means the target material deforms to half its original thickness in an extremely short time (one second divided by hundred millions). PUUs also quickly return to their original shape after the impact.
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WNU Editor: These materials could probably also be used in body armor.
2 comments:
These helmets seem to give better protection than even the German WW2 helmets.
Many people did not like the look. They should not get so worked up.
The German helmet is reinventing the wheel. It relearns what was known in the late middle ages, the sallet. Many people have written as much.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallet
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
This is good stuff. They are admitting though that they are still struggling with energy absorption/dissipation.
Body armor yes, but their most lucrative market would be cars, planes, water bourne craft, and eating utensils/dishes.
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