Diatom-Inspired Architected Liner Material for Multi-Impact Helmet Energy Absorption
A helmet inner-liner material whose cellular architecture is biomimetically derived from the multilayer silica frustule of the Coscinodiscus diatom. Students learn how the geometry is built in CAD, how its energy absorption is predicted with finite element modelling and verified by quasi-static compression of 3D-printed elastomeric samples, and how parametric optimization tunes wall and pore geometry to match honeycomb-level energy absorption while keeping the liner lightweight, breathable, and reusable for multi-impact helmets.
D-HAT: a Diatom-inspired structure for a Helmet concept Against Trauma L. Musenich, L. Strozzi, M.
Helmets protect against traumatic brain injury by converting impact kinetic energy into deformation of an inner liner, conventionally a structural foam (EPS, EPP, PU) whose stress-strain response is …