AGL 38.99 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.55%)
AIRLINK 207.30 Increased By ▲ 9.94 (5.04%)
BOP 9.65 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.15%)
CNERGY 6.04 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (2.2%)
DCL 8.95 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.47%)
DFML 37.10 Increased By ▲ 1.36 (3.81%)
DGKC 96.85 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.01%)
FCCL 35.65 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (1.13%)
FFBL 88.94 Increased By ▲ 6.64 (8.07%)
FFL 13.49 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (2.43%)
HUBC 127.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.05%)
HUMNL 13.84 Increased By ▲ 0.34 (2.52%)
KEL 5.42 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.88%)
KOSM 7.06 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.86%)
MLCF 44.90 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.45%)
NBP 60.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.67 (-1.09%)
OGDC 217.16 Increased By ▲ 2.49 (1.16%)
PAEL 40.85 Increased By ▲ 2.06 (5.31%)
PIBTL 8.38 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.58%)
PPL 194.34 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (0.65%)
PRL 39.29 Increased By ▲ 0.63 (1.63%)
PTC 26.70 Increased By ▲ 0.90 (3.49%)
SEARL 107.63 Increased By ▲ 4.03 (3.89%)
TELE 8.51 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.53%)
TOMCL 35.67 Increased By ▲ 0.67 (1.91%)
TPLP 13.50 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (1.5%)
TREET 23.30 Increased By ▲ 1.14 (5.14%)
TRG 61.15 Increased By ▲ 5.56 (10%)
UNITY 33.00 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.09%)
WTL 1.68 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (5%)
BR100 11,931 Increased By 204.9 (1.75%)
BR30 36,892 Increased By 515.2 (1.42%)
KSE100 111,920 Increased By 2406.5 (2.2%)
KSE30 35,234 Increased By 720.4 (2.09%)
Technology

Futuristic lobster-inspired body armors to be flexible, stretchy

Inspired from lobsters, researchers have come across a new technique to create a body armor, which would not only b
Published March 9, 2019

Inspired from lobsters, researchers have come across a new technique to create a body armor, which would not only be hard, but also flexible, soft and stretchy.

A team of scientists from MIT have figured out a way to make flexible, tough, soft, and stretchy body armor inspired from the flexible translucent membrane found on the underside of lobster’s tail.

The researchers determined that the membrane is in fact a hydrogel, composing of 90% water, and 10% of chitin – a fibrous material usually found in shells and exoskeletons. The lobster’s membrane is also the world’s toughest natural hydrogel and roughly even matches the strength of industrial rubber composites, reported New Atlas.

Also, the team discovered that the membrane becomes stiffer and tougher when stretched beyond around twice its relaxed length, in comparison to other tough hydrogels that become softer when stretched. It could also still be stretched just as far without breaking even when a scalpel was used to cut half-way through the thickness of the membrane, which won’t be possible with other materials.

Spider silk could be used as artificial muscles for robots, research finds

“We think this work could motivate flexible armor design,” researcher Ming Guo told MIT News. “If you could make armor out of these types of materials, you could freely move your joints, and it would make you feel more comfortable.”

The researchers found that the membrane’s unique structure includes tens of thousands of layers. The fibers within those layers help the material dissipate energy when it’s under stress, hence making it ‘damage tolerant’.

“The knowledge learned from the soft membrane of natural lobsters sheds light on designing synthetic soft, yet strong and tough materials for reliable usage under extreme mechanical conditions, including a flexible armor that can provide full-body protection without sacrificing limb mobility,” the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Acta Materialia.

The researchers believe that such a material designed to replicate the strength and flexibility of lobster membranes could also be used in soft robotics and tissue engineering and also to cover joints like elbows and knees. Also, it can offer solution to the problem that the more mobility an armor offers, the less it protects the wearer’s body, wrote The Washington Post.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.