Inspired By A Marine Mollusk, 3D Prints Flexible Protective Armor.

　　 The picture shows that the mineralized scales of the soft shell turtle can protect the uncovered shell. Photo source: nature communication.

According to the latest material research published by the British Journal of nature and communications 10, 3D has printed a new synthetic polymer armor. This is a new flexible armour inspired by the belt of marine mollusk.

In general, armor is the protective equipment worn by ancient soldiers. However, in the practical operation of modern society, many high risk areas still need similar protective devices with relatively high safety. Biology has always been a source of inspiration for armor design, but flexibility is always a major problem in armor development.

Previously known by biologists, marine mollusks have large shell plates on the back of the soft shell, which can play a protective role. The shellfish actually belong to a primitive type of shellfish. The shell consists of 8 shell plates arranged in a tile like pattern, somewhat shaped like the common tide insects on the land. But the most unusual thing is that there is a ring of outer membrane around the shell, which is called the girdle, so they have rows of mineralized scales to protect the uncovered shell.

This time, Li Ling, a researcher at Virginia Tech, and his colleagues analyzed how the turtle can maintain a certain degree of activity while evolving its self-protection mechanism. The team used a number of techniques to study the structure and function of mineralized scales of different species of soft shell turtle. Subsequently, a synthetic polymer armor was designed and printed by 3D, and the structure and function of these scales were further analyzed.

In the experiment, the research team also demonstrated that this 3D printing flexible armour can be used as a kneecap to protect the body from scratched by broken glass.

The researchers say that although the armor they are developing is of plastic material, it has the potential of 3D printing different materials, which means that the design principles proposed by the study are expected to be applied to other functional prototypes.