materialsscienceandengineering: A football helmet design that...

materialsscienceandengineering:

A football helmet design that listens to physics

A shock-absorbing football helmet system being developed at the University of Michigan could blunt some dangerous physics that today’s head protection ignores.

The engineering researchers making the system, called Mitigatium, were recently funded by a group that includes the National Football League. Their early prototype could lead to a lightweight and affordable helmet that effectively dissipates the energy from hit after hit on the field. Current helmets can’t do this, and that’s one of the reasons they aren’t very good at preventing brain injury.

“Today’s football helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures by reducing the peak force of an impact,” said Ellen Arruda, U-M professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. “And they do a good job of that. But they don’t actually dissipate energy. They leave that to the brain.”

Sports like football present big challenges for the designers of protective head gear. To dissipate energy, a helmet typically has to deform, like the bike version cracks in a collision. And disposable helmets aren’t practical for football players.

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We’re working really hard to help keep our modern day gladiators less in danger than they currently are… but is there a place for this brute-ish sport in modern, civilized society? I much prefer real football.

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materialsscienceandengineering: Toward roads that de-ice...

materialsscienceandengineering:

Toward roads that de-ice themselves

As winter approaches, stores, cities and homeowners are stocking up on salt, gravel and sand in anticipation of slippery roads. But this annual ritual in colder climates could soon become unnecessary. Researchers report in ACS’ journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research a new road material that could de-ice itself.

Every winter, when weather forecasters predict snow or icy conditions, local governments deploy trucks that dust roads with salt, sand or other chemical mixtures to help prevent ice build-up. Residents break out their own supply to keep their walkways and driveways from freezing over and becoming dangerously slick. But the de-icer doesn’t stay on the streets for long. Melting snow and vehicles driving by wash or force it off, making re-application necessary. To break this cycle, Seda Kizilel and colleagues wanted to see if they could devise a way to ice-proof the road itself.

The researchers started with the salt potassium formate and combined it with the polymer styrene-butadiene-styrene. They added this mixture to bitumen, a major component of asphalt. The resulting material was just as sturdy as unmodified bitumen, and it significantly delayed ice formation in lab studies. The new composite released de-icing salt for two months in the lab, but the effects could last even longer when used on real roads, the researchers note. In that instance, the salt-polymer composite would be evenly embedded throughout the asphalt. Thus, as cars and trucks drive over and wear away the pavement, the salt could continually be released – potentially for years.

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Could be huge.

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Beijing Issues Its First Ever 'Red Alert' Over Air Pollution

Beijing Issues Its First Ever 'Red Alert' Over Air Pollution:

It’s sad that they’ve allowed pollution to reach this state.

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