Engineers have created material that cannot be cut through. Explaining how it works
Researchers from the University of Durham in the UK and the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have developed the world’s first non-cut material called Proteus.
Its density is only 15% of that of steel, which, they said, could allow the creation of new types of armor.
Proteus uses ceramic spheres in a lattice aluminum structure. These spheres create destructive vibrations that dull any cutting tool. The researchers drew inspiration from the tough cell skin of grapefruit and tough, crush-resistant shellfish.
An angle grinder or drill bit will cut the outer layer of the Proteus plate, but as soon as the tool reaches the embedded ceramic spheres, vibration begins, dulling the sharp edges of the tool, and then fine particles of ceramic dust begin to fill in the gaps in the matrix-shaped metal structure. This makes it even more difficult to cut the material.
The material is also effective against high-pressure Rizak waterjets, as the spherical shape of the ceramic pieces tends to expand the water jet, significantly slowing down the cutting speed.
“Basically, cutting our material is like cutting a jelly filled with grains. If you get caught in the jelly, you are trapped in grains, and the material will vibrate in such a way that it will destroy the blade or drill”, – says lead author Stefan Shynishevsky, assistant professor of applied mechanics in Durham’s engineering department.
“The ceramic embedded in this flexible material also consists of very small particles that, when cutting hard and supported by an angle grinder or drill, work in the same way as sandbags resist and stop the ball at high speed when cutting”.
In addition to bike locks and light armor, Proteus has the potential to create protective gear for people using cutting tools. Patent pending.
Source: nv.ua
