Smart Armour

[LukeH 0]

-From New Scientist.com

US and Canadian skiers get smart armour
* 16:52 14 February 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Will Knight

A futuristic flexible material that instantly hardens into armour upon impact will protect US and Canadian skiers from injury on the slalom runs at this year's Winter Olympics.

The lightweight bendable material, known as d3o, can be worn under normal ski clothing. It will provide protection for US and Canadian skiers taking part in slalom and giant slalom races in Turin, Italy. Skiers normally have to wear bulky arm and leg guards to protect themselves from poles placed along the slalom run.

Skiwear company Spyder, based in Colorado, US, developed racing suits incorporating d3o along the shins and forearms and offered members of the US and Canadian Olympic alpine ski teams the chance to try them out several months ago. "Now they love it and won't ski without it," claims Richard Palmer, CEO of UK-based d3o Labs, which developed the material.

Although the exact chemical ingredients of d3o are a commercial secret, Palmer says the material is synthesised by mixing together a viscose fluid and a polymer. Following synthesis, liquid d3o is poured into a mould that matches the shape of the body part it will protect.
Brief impact

The resulting material exhibits a material property called "strain rate sensitivity". Under normal conditions the molecules within the material are weakly bound and can move past each with ease, making the material flexible. But the shock of sudden deformation causes the chemical bonds to strengthen and the moving molecules to lock, turning the material into a more solid, protective shield.

In laboratory testing, d3o-guards provided as much protection as most conventional protective materials, its makers claim. But Phil Green, research director at d3o Labs, says it is difficult to precisely measure the material's properties because the hardening effect only last as long as the impact itself.

However, Green believes it may be possible to alter the properties of d3o for new applications. "There are certainly opportunities to dabble with the chemistry and enhance the effect," he told New Scientist. The ultimate goal is "flexible ballistic protection", he says.

Another potential application may be sound-proofing. The propagation of sound waves should generate a similar strain to an impact, so it may be feasible to create a material that becomes more sound proof in response to increasing noise. "It could have some very interesting, unexplored properties," Green says.


http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8721
http://www.d3olab.com/

[eUrNiCc 0]

A fellow jumper showed me this a while back. Seems like it would be fantastic for BASE applications. Climbing & jumping in full body armour and bulky knee pads can be a bitch.

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[Twoply 0]

Any armor is better than none when shit's going bad. But it seems to me that there's not any protection from the initial shock or impact. Maybe subsequent impacts from rolling down the mountain would be helped, but not the first hit. Is that accurate?

[piisfish 135]

http://www.ribcap.com/index.phpSwiss headgear with 3do

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Professor 0]

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But it seems to me that there's not any protection from the initial shock or impact.

No, I think the idea is that the stuff is flexible, then becomes rigid during the impact, protecting you, then goes back to being flexible after the impact is over. Think of Silly Putty. If you're just moving it around in your hand, it's soft, but if you roll it in a ball and throw it at the ground, it bounces. The material changes properties during the impact. Or even think of water. Hit if fast, it's hard. Hit it slow, it's soft.

These guys are going to make so much money.

Ted
Like a giddy school girl.

[CBRnick 0]

A lot of bikers are interested in this too, but its not new.
Its a very simple principle, and takes the idea from cornflour starch.

Thats why you can walk over custard.
When its a fluid you can push your hand through custard, but hit it hard with a flat object, such as the sole of a foot, and the custard solidifies instantly and will easily support the weight of a man.
You can fill a bath with liquid custard, and jump on it. You wont sink, your feet will hit it like its wood.
Remove the weight from it and it returns to a liquid state again.
Simple cornflour starch.
Funny how nature always has the best solutions isnt it. (Thats another post though :))
Im not exactly how sure they have translated this property into flexible rubber but it can be done at least to some extent.

Hein Gericke, who make motorbike armour and leathers have had the first generation of this stuff called Hiprotec on the market for a couple of years now. Its not cheap though.

http://www.hein-gericke.com/int/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=0&inc_subcat=1&keywords=hiprotec&x=0&y=0

So its not new, regardless of what 3do claim. Its a slightly different design to the Hien Gericke stuff, and may well be the next generation, but its not new.

Ive got it in the arms and shoulders of my leathers where Ive had it for about the last year and a half or so and I can vouch for how comfortable it is.
Its like a thin flexible sheet with loads of soft rubber nodules on one side. Apparantly it absorbs something like 40% more of an impact than normal armour, and its about 8mm thick and very comfortable.
Ive never had to put it to the test yet, but I know two people who race at Superbike level who have it in thier race leathers. Both swear by it and think its fantastic stuff.

[Professor 0]

yeah, it really has tons of applications. Basically any sport that needs impact protection, would benefit from this stuff, and if they get the 'flexible ballistic armor' they mention on their web page figured out, the military and police contracts alone are going to be worth hojillions of dollars.

Ted
Like a giddy school girl.

[base570 1]

I read about this stuff a few months ago and really thought it would be great for BASE, although I would like to have a few pieces to test out before I would commit to developing a line of protective gear for BASE applications.

There is a lot of good information on this and other "Shear Thickening Fluids" (see Eric I finally remembered the name of it!) on the web.
Here is one.. https://www.ccm.udel.edu/STF/index.html. The d3o website also contains great information...

Anybody want to partner up on developing this for BASE???

Jason

[mfnren 0]

how about weaving it into canopy's? if you happen to strike a wall, the canopy might have a better chance of staying inflated? If sound waves activate it , turbulance might as well, keeping the wing more true to form.Or maybe countinuos wind pressure would keep it rigid? wing suits?

[base570 1]

Quote

how about weaving it into canopy's? if you happen to strike a wall, the canopy might have a better chance of staying inflated? If sound waves activate it , turbulance might as well, keeping the wing more true to form.Or maybe countinuos wind pressure would keep it rigid? wing suits?

I would think that it is too heavy to put into a canopy but in a wingsuit it might help with landing it

Jason

[Professor 0]

Quote

Or maybe countinuos wind pressure would keep it rigid? wing suits?

That is a bad ass idea. All the little vibrations would make the wing stay rigid. That would be sweet. Right up until you want to pull.
I'm sure that can be worked out, though.

Ted
Like a giddy school girl.

[eUrNiCc 0]

^Hmm... Just a thought... If this stuff becomes a solid when you compress it, then how are you going to pack it?

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[mfnren 0]

very carefully,heheh. Maybe a thinner layer? 2mm instead of 8, thinner but maybe enough for added performance. deploying a parachute?Just land it! how about ribs in the wings, you could still collapse the wings at pull time..

[Tyrion 0]

Quote

how about weaving it into canopy's? if you happen to strike a wall, the canopy might have a better chance of staying inflated? If sound waves activate it , turbulance might as well, keeping the wing more true to form.Or maybe countinuos wind pressure would keep it rigid? wing suits?

It could probably impede the canopy opening and pressurisation too.... Openings are definitely violent enough to cause the material to become rigid i'm sure.... That'd suck.

[georgyporgy 0]

Once you pack your chute at a low compression strain rate, your chute will not want to open since there will be compression forces when the plys in your chute onfolds.

Your 3do body protection won't help much at that speed.

the ground IS the limit

[SpeedyG942 0]

Back to the body armor application....I can see that type of material really taking over a segment of the market. It's fascinating how it works.

---------------------------------------

[pullhigh 0]

Why make a canopy out of it?

Why not just make a full body suit out of it and not even bother wearing a rig!

Think about it, no more sneaking rigs past security and such....

Ganja

[base698 1]

Where do you order it, and has anyone seen it first hand?

[jalisco 0]

Quote

You can fill a bath with liquid custard...

Then I wouldn't need the rubber sheets!

Now I just need to find some place to buy custard in bulk...

[pullhigh 0]

I guess you didn't notice the "custard" I already coated your sheets with?

Ganja

[CBRnick 0]

Quote

Where do you order it, and has anyone seen it first hand?

The 3do armour is only avialable directly from the manufacturer I think if it is actually avialable at all yet. No idea about price but Im guessing that its going to be expensive. I havent seen it other than in pictures.

The Hiprotec armour which is the Hein Gerricke version (1st generation of this type of armour) thats been avialable for some time can be ordered from any Hien Gerricke reseller, although I dont think they keep it in stock.
This I have seen and I have it in the shoulders and elbows/forearms and knees/shins in my Bike leathers.

Its soft flexible and rubbery with one side of the armour covered in soft rubbery 'bobbles' that you can move about and deform with your fingers.

Its around 8mm thick, very soft and follows the contours of your arms and moves with you. It feels warm to the touch and is very comfortable.
Unlike CE aproved armour which you are always aware of, you forget these are on.

Ive also got a Dave Odell Forceshield back protector which I believe has a centre core of the same material.
This has a plastic casing, but its still very thin and flexible and comfortable to wear.

As for how effective it is in a smash its difficult to say.

I had a smash a week ago when I was hit from behind by a car that didnt brake in time.
I was spat off pretty fast and thrown down the road and clipped the back corner of the car in front of me with the momentum.

My injuries are a friction burn on my kneecap from the inside of the leathers, a VERY bruised knee and a few bruises down my left side.

How much of this is luck and how much is attributable to the armour I cant say, other than my left knee that took the brunt of the impact on the tarmac.
The armour is still intact, and my leathers pretty scuffed.
Its a fair statement to say Id have a smashed kneecap now if I didnt have the armour and leathers on.

Did it give me better protection than normal thick armour ? No idea and I cant say, but it did work. How well it worked is hard to quantify as Im not going to chuck myself down the road again with CE armour to test it.

Hope that helps :)

[udder 0]

Are you 100% certain you can walk over custard? I think I am going to spend one day next week filling my bath with that shit just to check it out. Though not the sort of custard that makes my sheets solid.

"In one way or the other, I'm a bad brother. Word to the motherf**ker." Eazy-E

[CBRnick 0]

Yes you can, as long as its cornflour custard and not egg custard. They dont have the same properties.

There is a program on tv in the UK called Brainiacs, and they recently did an episode where they filled a pool with it and then ran across it a few times.
They didnt sink into it till the bloke stopped moving, then he started to sink. They had quite a job pulling him out as it kept going hard around his legs when they pulled him upwards.

There is a smaller thing Ive been shown that you can do to see how cornflour goes solid.

Mix a large bowl of cornflour custard.

Then put a fork into it about an inch deep, and pull the fork rapidly to the other side of the bowl. It leaves a solid groove which then turns back to liquid and the groove fills.

Or dip you hands in and scoop as much of the cornflour custard up with two scooped hands.
Then start to roll it rapidly between your hands.
Keep rolling it about and within a very short time it forms up into a sticky ball thats quite solid for as long as you keep it rolling between your hands.

Then stop rolling and try to hold the ball in your fingertips. It just turns back into liquid custard and gloops back into the bowl (assuming your hands are still over the bowl :)).
Its quite wierd to see.

So long as you use proper cornflour custard and not egg custard it will work, and if you want to fill a bath with it, you can stomp on it and you wont sink into it. Stand still for a second and walk on it too slowly though and you will sink into it.

[avenfoto 0]

recipe?

[CBRnick 0]

Quote

recipe?

Er, cornflour custard mix and water...?