BMW develops innovative materials for safety protection

What kind of enlightenment can a grapefruit bring? Recently, BMW researchers and their partners gave the answer. The BISS (Bio-Inspired Safety System), a leading bionics research project of the BMW Group, has achieved new results. The researchers spent three years and received inspiration from nature to develop new materials that are lighter, tougher, and more stable. Their protective performance has increased by 20%. They can be used to manufacture protective clothing such as protective clothing and helmets.

Inspired by nature to enhance crashworthiness, impact resistance and shock absorption

Bionics is the science that studies the structure and properties of biological systems and provides new design ideas and working principles for engineering technology. Bionics has played a huge role in the development of automobiles. The BMW Group is an innovative pioneer in this field, drawing inspiration from nature in vehicle design, new material research and development and applications, and continuing to advance the industry in automotive design and material selection. Researchers at BMW have used the horse's skeletal structure to develop a lightweight body structure. They have also simulated the size of dolphins and penguins and created the streamline appearance of the BMW H2R hydrogen fuel concept vehicle, achieving a very low drag coefficient.

This time, the BMW researchers turned their eyes to grapefruit. They noticed that the grapefruit will not break even if it falls from a height, and the pulp will hardly be damaged. This is because grapefruit-like grapefruit skin has a good impact resistance, and its own weight is very light, equivalent to own shock absorption effect. In addition to pomelo, the scales of fish and reptiles have also attracted the interest of researchers. The overlapping layers of scales can disperse external forces to the surrounding scales, so it is extremely strong and can play a very good protective role.

The protection characteristics unique to the above biological models are essentially determined by their hierarchical design. The structure of pomelo peel is known as auxetic material in materials science. This material responds to pressure in a completely different way from traditional materials: Under the pressure point, traditional materials can collapse and thin, while the "pull-inflated material" compresses and hardens faster. So this material actually becomes thicker when stretched rather than thinner.

In the BISS project, the researchers improved the layered structure and fiber orientation in the current fiber composite materials based on the principle structure of “advancing expansion material” to produce new materials with excellent protection effects and pioneered the collision avoidance and defense. Combines functions such as shock and shock absorption. The current research results have exceeded expectations. The new materials are lighter, stronger, and more stable than the currently used materials, and their performance is improved by up to 20%. This innovative material can be produced and processed in an economical way, with a very good prospect of industrial production and application.

Innovative bionics materials have broad application prospects

This innovative bionics material can be applied in many fields in the future. Taking the BMW Group as an example, this new material will create more ergonomic gloves and protective clothing to better protect the workers on the assembly line from being sharpened. Damage to body parts. Lightweight and breathable new materials allow workers to move freely. In addition, BMW motorcycle helmets are also expected to use this material in the future. Helmets made of new materials weigh much less than traditional products on the market, but they provide the same level of protection.

The scope of application of new materials is not only this, but sporting goods manufacturers participating in this research project also see great potential. In the future, this new material can also be used for protective clothing for basketball and football players, helmets for skiing and cycling, and more protective sports equipment.