Two new scientific works of researchers from different countries describe ways to create new types of armor, prompted by simple mollusks. There is a great hope that soon soldiers, and perhaps also cars, will receive bioinspired armor, windshields and heat shields, the website of the Discovery channel writes.
Things are happening now that will turn into a technological breakthrough in the next decade, ”says Christine Ortiz, professor of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Ortip and graduate student Ling Lee, who published the results of their work in the journal Natural Materials, describe the Placuna placenta oyster experiments, which are almost entirely (99 percent) covered with a ceramic shell with an 80 percent transparency. Scientists consider this combination to be very suitable for a bulletproof windshield.
When we began to conduct mechanical tests, we discovered multi-shock characteristics, says Ortiz, noting that, unlike glass, the oyster shell doesn’t crack when it is punched with a small sharp object, and the deformation is local.
It is obvious that 80 percent of the transparency of the material is not enough for its effective use as a car windshield. Therefore, scientists have decided to transfer the structure of the clam shell to another material. Under natural conditions, an oyster does not need to have a fully transparent shell - 80% of transparency is sufficient for combination with a sandy bottom.
Researcher Sylvain Deville from the National Center for Scientific Research of France (CNRS / Saint-Gobain) has developed a unique method of using a substance called mother-of-pearl in armor production. In a study that was also published in the journal Nature Materials, he proposed to take the structure of ice crystals as a basis.
Nacre is an outstanding material for armor. It absorbs energy well, explains the researcher, adding that his technology allows you to create ultra-strong heat-resistant materials for use in high-speed vehicles, including aircraft engines.
According to experts, now the main issue that will have to solve both teams, will be the mastery of these technologies in mass production, despite the fact that this task is not simple.
It should be noted that this is not the first work on the study of the properties of the shell of mollusks. Previously, other researchers used the nacre structure to create safety glass.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment