A team from San Diego State University has created 3D-printed composite coatings, called meta-skins, to protect foam-core structures. These coatings feature a pseudo-woven architecture and are manufactured using automated placement of continuous carbon fiber tows. The study analyzed their behavior under impacts of varying intensity.
Pseudo-Woven Architecture and Configurations Tested 🧪
The research evaluated two configurations: monocoque (single skin) and sandwich (two skins). In low-speed impacts, the monocoque configuration absorbed nearly all the energy, outperforming conventional laminates. For moderate-speed impacts, the sandwich structure with two skins demonstrated more effective mitigation. This shows that performance depends not only on the material, but on how its architecture adapts to the impact energy.
A Bulletproof Vest for Your Foam? 😄
It seems that even foam panels can now aspire to have their own tactical gear. First it was Kevlar for people, and now digitally woven carbon fiber skins for the softest cores. Who would have thought that choosing between a shirt or a sweater (monocoque or sandwich) would be a critical engineering decision. All that's left is for them to start selling phone cases with the same pattern.