Quick Summary
• Researchers at Texas A&M University and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory have engineered a composite that absorbs up to ten times more energy than conventional padding, threading a 3D printed elastomeric skeleton through ordinary open-cell foam to deliver a material that is affordable and lightweight without sacrificing durability or performance. The implications stretch well beyond […]
Additional Context
Researchers at Texas A&M University and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory have engineered a composite that absorbs up to ten times more energy than conventional padding, threading a 3D printed elastomeric skeleton through ordinary open-cell foam to deliver a material that is affordable and lightweight without sacrificing durability or performance.
The implications stretch well beyond protective gear, standing to reshape defense, automotive, aerospace, and consumer industries wherever energy absorption, weight reduction, and scalable production converge.
Published in the journal Composite Structures, the research was led by Dr. Mohammad Naraghi, director of the Nanostructured Materials Lab at Texas A&M’s College of Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Eric Wetzel, team leader for Stra