UW News
May 29, 2019
Video: Origami-inspired materials are designed to soften impact
University of Washington researchers have developed a novel solution to change the feeling of impact when one thing hits another. It has potential for use in spacecraft, cars and beyond. Inspired by origami, the team created a paper model of a metamaterial that uses “folding creases” to soften impact forces and promote forces that relax stresses in the chain.
“If you were wearing a football helmet made of this material and something hit the helmet, you’d never feel that hit on your head. By the time the energy reaches you, it’s no longer pushing. It’s pulling,” said Jinkyu Yang, a UW associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics.
Read more in the related news release.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • Jinkyu Yang
