Researchers have developed a new kind of material with adjustable and reversible properties. This new smart fabric is 3D- printed with interlinked particles, like chain mail.

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The smart chain mail fabric that can stiffen on demand

The new 3D-printed material can switch from flexible to stiff and back again

(Nature,11/08/2021)- Researchers have developed a new kind of material with adjustable and reversible properties.

This new smart fabric is 3D printed with interlinked particles, like chain mail.

Applying pressure jams the particles together and the fabric becomes stiff and solid until the pressure is released.

This unusual property could be useful for reusable casts and other medical applications.

Structured fabrics, such as woven sheets or chain mail armours, derive their properties both from the constitutive materials and their geometry.

Their design can target desirable characteristics, such as high impact resistance, thermal regulation, or electrical conductivity.

A new type of ‘chain mail’ fabric that is flexible like cloth but can stiffen on demand has been developed by scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

 

When the soft fabric is wrapped within a flexible plastic envelope and vacuum-packed, it turns into a rigid structure that is 25 times stiffer or harder to bend than when relaxed.

The physical principle behind it is called “jamming transition”.

It is believed these new ‘wearable structured fabrics’ could pave the way for smart fabrics that can harden to protect a user against an impact or when additional load-bearing capacity is needed.

Potential applications include bullet-proof or stab-proof vests, configurable medical support for the elderly, and protective exoskeletons for high-impact sports or workplaces like construction sites.

It could also lead to a new platform technology with applications in medical and robotic systems.

 

The team has also 3D-printed the chain mail in aluminium, which has more tensile strength and more suitable for industrial applications. © NTU

The team has also 3D-printed the chain mail in aluminium, which has more tensile strength and more suitable for industrial applications.
© NTU

To show the possibilities of their fabric concept using different source material, the team 3D-printed the chain mail using aluminium and demonstrated that it has the same flexibility and ‘soft’ performance as nylon when relaxed and yet it can also be ‘jammed’ into structures that are much stiffer compared to nylon due to aluminium’s higher stiffness and strength.

Moving forward, the team is looking to improve the material and fabric performance of the chain mail and to explore more methods of stiffening it, such as through magnetism, electricity or temperature.

Source: Nature,  Innovation in Textiles

Last Updated on 26.12.2021 by iskova