America
Structures tougher than bulletproof vests are here
New York, March 27
Researchers from the
University of Texas at Dallas have created new structures that can
stretch up to seven times their length while remaining tougher than
Kevlar -- often used to make bulletproof vests.
These structures exploit the electromechanical properties of specific nanofibres to absorb up to 98 joules per gram.
Kevlar can absorb up to 80 joules per gram.
The
material can reinforce itself at points of high stress and could
potentially be used in military airplanes or other defence applications,
said the study published in the journal Applied Materials and
Interfaces.
The team twisted nanofibre into yarns and coils.
The
electricity generated by stretching the twisted nanofibre formed an
attraction 10 times stronger than a hydrogen bond, which is considered
one of the strongest forces formed between molecules.
"We
reproduced this process in nanofibres by manipulating the creation of
electric charges to result in a lightweight, flexible, yet strong
material," said Majid Minary, assistant professor of mechanical
engineering at UT Dallas.
The world needs such materials on a large scale for industrial and defence applications, the study noted.
"Our
experiment is proof of the concept that our structures can absorb more
energy before failure than the materials conventionally used in
bulletproof armours," Minary added.
The next step in the research is to make larger structures out of the yarns and coils.