In martial arts novels, the “soft hedgehog armor” is made of a mixture of gold silk and thousand-year-old rattan branches. The latest study of materials science published in the British “Nature” magazine on the 11th described a kind of high-tech fabric imitating “chain armor” (chain armor) developed by scientists, which can be changed from a soft and bendable state. Become a hard state, achieve a strong load, and then be able to change back from the hard state.This material will be used for various robots and
Medical treatment
The scene heralds the bright future of reconfigurable wearable structures.
The “soft hedgehog armor” worn by Huang Rongyi is the treasure of Peach Blossom Island. This special material originally only existed in the novel, but with the help of smart technology fabrics, it is possible to realize it. The characteristics of ordinary fabrics and fabrics are usually determined by the natural characteristics of the material and the woven structure; while smart fabrics refer to adaptive materials, such as materials that can be changed according to external stimuli.
California Institute of Technology researcher Cheara Dalario and his colleagues, this time designed a3D printingA fabric made of interlocking polymer elements (not fabric), which can gradually switch between soft and hard shapes.
When in its natural state, this fabric is easy to bend and can hang on the surface of complex objects. When in a compressed state, the interlocking particles of the fabric will be squeezed together, and the hardness is about 25 times that in the loose state. The maximum load capacity of the resulting structure is more than 30 times its own weight.Researchers believe that future reconfigurable fabrics need to fit the human body or be able to be fixed after forming a complex structure.3D printingThe new characteristics of “soft hedgehog” heralds the bright future of wearable reconfigurable structures.
In the news and opinion article accompanying the paper, Larente Augis, a researcher at the University of Grenoble-Alpes in France, wrote that this material is expected to be used in manufacturing “oriented
biology
medicine
, Sports or military applications,” or build temporary shelters.
Original paper:
https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02116-2
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