Shear-Thickening Energy-Absorbing Material for Flexible Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy-absorbing materials for protective clothing, such as gloves and footwear, require complex and costly tooling for various sizes, and existing solutions like hard shells and soft foams do not provide adequate protection, especially in thin sections below 6 mm thickness.
Innovation Solution
A liquid-castable polymer system combined with a shear thickening additive, such as dilatant or TPE/silicone blend, is used to create a soft and flexible material with improved energy-absorbing properties, which can be cast into low-pressure tooling for integration into clothing, reducing tooling costs and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If hard shells are used for protection, then impact protection is improved, but flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines shear thickening fluid (STF) with textile layers to create a composite material that exhibits both flexibility and impact protection. The STF-infused textile maintains flexibility during normal wear while providing hard-shell-like protection during impact events through shear thickening behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The material's mechanical properties change dynamically based on applied stress. During normal conditions, the STF remains fluid and flexible, but under impact conditions, the shear rate increases causing the STF to transition to a solid-like state, providing enhanced protection while maintaining flexibility during normal use.
2Manufacturing precision
If injection molding is used for complex shapes, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex shaping function from expensive injection molding tooling and transfers it to flexible molds that can be integrated directly into clothing manufacturing processes. This allows complex shapes to be achieved through the drape and conformability of the STF-infused textile rather than rigid mold constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, durable injection molding tools with cheaper, flexible molds that can be easily modified or discarded. These flexible molds are integrated into clothing manufacturing processes, eliminating the need for separate, costly injection molding operations.
3Manufacturing precision
If injection molding is used for multiple sizes, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase dramatically
Solution Approach 1:
The STF-infused textile provides a universal solution that can be manufactured in multiple sizes using the same base material and process. The flexible nature of the material allows it to be cut and shaped for different sizes without requiring separate injection molds for each size variant.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the manufacturing process into universal material production followed by size-specific cutting and assembly. This allows the core STF-infused textile to be produced once and then adapted to different sizes through simpler downstream processes, eliminating the need for multiple injection molds.
4Ease of operation
If foam materials are used for protection, then flexibility is improved, but protection performance deteriorates in thin sections
Solution Approach 1:
The STF material changes its protective properties dynamically based on applied stress. In thin sections during normal wear, the material remains flexible like foam, but during impact events, the shear thickening provides hard protection equivalent to or exceeding traditional protective materials, regardless of thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material combining STF with textile layers, achieving both the flexibility of foam and the protection performance of harder materials. The textile-STF composite provides superior protection in thin sections compared to foam alone while maintaining flexibility during normal use.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced energy-absorbing performance with reduced tooling costs and complexity, allowing for flexible and effective protection in a wide range of clothing items without increasing stiffness or thickness, meeting higher impact protection standards.
Implementation Method 1
a shear thickening additive, such as dilatant or TPE/silicone blend
Data Source
AI summary
A composition comprising a liquid-castable polymer system combined with solid particles of a shear thickening additive; an energy absorbing material formed from the composition; and an article comprising the energy absorbing material on a substrate, for example, a glove (1) including the material of the present disclosure as energy absorbing elements (2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e) incorporated onto the surface (4) of a textile substrate to provide protection over the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints.