AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
KEYWORDS
Polymer design, Impact resistant, Reduced traumatic brain injuries
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Vijay Gupta & UCLA Research Team • Vijay Gupta is a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
WEBSITE
http://designandviolence.moma.org/american-football-helmet-polymer-vijay-gupta-ucla-research-team/
POLYMER FOR MITIGATING IMPACT FORCES
POLYMER FOR MITIGATING IMPACT FORCES WITH COLLISION DURATIONS IN NANOSECONDS TO MILLISECONDS RANGE.
Foams of various densities produced using this new UCLA Polymer have been tested by integrating them into football helmets, motorcycle helmets, skull caps, soft helmets, running shoes & other protective pads & gears used in various sports (soccer, lacrosse, motocross). For each application, UCLA foams outperform the current products by decreasing the transmitted impact forces by an additional 15% to 60%. For example, compared with the current helmets used in the NFL, a football helmet made using UCLA foam reduced the G-force on the head of a player (as measured in the NOCSAE standard test) by an additional 22%. Since the material also responds to much higher loading rates, it can be also integrated into military helmets to reduce probability of traumatic brain injuries to our soldiers. In ASTM F1976 standard test carried out by shoe industry to estimate ground impact forces on the body of a runner, the UCLA foams outperformed all major brands of the shoe foams by a significant margin.