CompositesWorld
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87 CompositesWorld.com NEWS N E W S N S N E W S E N W S W Composites Tackle Concussions • Unrivalled market leader in impact resistance. • Unmatched peel strength and resistance to delamination. • Extremely strong and durable. Highest possible safety for your boat hull. For design details, please contact corematerials@3AComposites.com AIREX ® R63. When Failure Is Not an Option. www.3ACCorematerials.com See us at CAMX, Dallas, TX, Oct. 26-29, Booth #S100 from a football helmet is if you crash and damage your motorcycle helmet, you replace it." Te standard a successful football helmet design must meet in the fnal phase of testing is to sustain more than 1,000 impacts, yet retain all its functional, protective char- acteristics. Tis, she says, implies a funda- mental diference in the way one designs materials and develops a helmet. Te fnal phase of the Clemson-based research project will consist of testing full helmets attached to a dummy head to a standard established by NOCSAE, Doc (ND) 001-11m13, "Standard Test Method and Equipment Used in Evaluating the Performance of Protective Headgear/ Equipment." Te researchers at Clemson will be building a new tower and drop carriage. In order for a helmet to pass the test, it must be able to withstand impact at an acceptable level, according to NOCSAE's Severity Index (SI) — a pass/fail threshold value for a helmet's ability to reduce impact force calculated in terms of acceleration and duration in 16 helmet locations. It also must meet all other damage and durability requirements of the specifcation. When development reaches this stage, the project team will need a helmet manu- facturing partner, says Cates, and eforts are ongoing to secure one. Further, the research could have broader long-term commercial benefts. "We're sponsoring this research focused on helmets in contact sports, but impact is really a much wider issue in the composites world," she acknowledges. "So, in this sense, we're looking at this as a basis to understand impact better, more gener- ally, and to allow us to make more nuanced materials suggestions and solutions to our customers." A helmet on every at-risk head First into the market, the SG helmet has proven the mettle of composites as a superior material for dissipating G-forces related to football head-to-head collisions and concussions. As with any new product, ongoing R&D; eforts will fne-tune and enhance early designs, and address the realities of commer- cial cost in a highly competitive market. As the process plays out, prompting greater emphasis on safety in American football, deliv- ering fundamental research insights with spin-of benefts for other applications in which head injuries are a risk, it promises to be a win-win for helmet manufacturers, football players of all ages and the parents and fans who cheer them on. Michael R. LeGault is a freelance writer located in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the former editor of Canadian Plastics magazine (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). mlegault@compositesworld.com Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/FBHelmets