Core77

Materials to Protect and Serve

By Aart van Bezooijen - March 20, 2007

in Materials

[photo: cross section of APS fabric]

Dow Corning's latest material news is called APS or Active Protection System, an "intelligent" fabric that consists of three-dimensional spacer textile treated with a specially formulated, responsive silicone coating. It remains soft and flexible under normal conditions. But when stressed under high-impact force, the material instantly becomes rigid, and then immediately returns to a flexible state. This innovative material offers a unique combination of benefits that is particularly suited for use in high-performance protective apparel and equipment.

Those who are into smart fabrics will surely remember D3O lab's products which are based upon the same principle. New materials open doors to new applications as demonstrated by the 6 winning designs of their recent competition.

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Ken J

17 years ago

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Dragonskin is Boron Carbide ceramic plates that overlap each other. They form a type of scale armor. The fabric mentioned in this article is different in the fact that it otherwise is very flexible until moment of impact.
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R Saguin

17 years ago

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That 2nd Prize flip shoe in the contest has been done already. Nike Ovidian I believe.
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Dan Wodarcyk

17 years ago

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We're developing an exhibition on modern technology in the textiles industry. This is an amazing innovation. Look forward to understanding how it responds to sudden temperature changes.
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Jay

17 years ago

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Don't know if this was already featured here, but saw it on "Future Weapons" on the Discovery channel... called: Dragonskin... Check it on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS0pSwdQfbY
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