Helmet Design Based on the Optimization of Biocomposite Energy-Absorbing Liners under Multi-Impact Loading
Source abstract
Abstract
Cellular materials have been used in many applications such as insulation, packaging, and protective gear. Expanded polystyrene has been widely used as energy-absorbing liner in helmets due to its excellent cost-benefit relation. This synthetic material can absorb reasonable amounts of energy via permanent deformation. However, in real-world accidents, helmets may be subjected to multi-impact scenarios. Additionally, oil-derived plastic is presently a major source of societal concern regarding pollution and waste. As a sustainable alternative, cork is a natural cellular material with great crashworthiness properties and it has the remarkable capacity to recover after compression, due to its viscoelastic behavior, which is a desired characteristic in multi-impact applications. Therefore, the main goal is to analyze the applicability of agglomerated cork as padding material in safety helmets. First, a finite element model of a motorcycle helmet available on the market was developed to assess its safety performance and to establish a direct comparison between expanded polystyrene and cork agglomerates as liners. Secondly, a new helmet model with a generic geometry was developed to assess the applicability of agglomerated cork as liner for different types of helmets, based on the head injury risk predictions by the finite element head model, YEt Another Head Model (YEAHM), developed by the authors. Several versions of helmet liners were created by varying its thickness and removing sections of material. In other words, this generic helmet was optimized by carrying out a parametric study, and by comparing its performance under double impacts. The results from these tests indicate that agglomerated cork liners are an excellent alternative to the synthetic ones. Thus, agglomerated cork can be employed in protective gear, improving its overall performance and capacity to withstand multi-impacts.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Automotive and Human Injury Biomechanics · Transportation Safety and Impact Analysis · Cellular and Composite Structures
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
TEMA—Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Department of Machine Design and Research, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Lukasiewicza 7/9, 50-371 Wroclaw, Poland
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