WiSys Technologies

Overview

Dilatant materials are non-Newtonian, shear thickening fluids whose shear viscosity increases with shear stress. Since these materials harden on sudden impact, they have shown great promise for use in a variety of areas, ranging from personal protective equipment and body armor to vehicular traction control and protective cases for portable electronics. However, few such materials exist, which limits their use. In addition, controlling the transparency of dilatant materials has proven to be difficult due to the two-phase nature of most shear thickening fluids and this has to date limited their use in areas such as armored glass or auto windshields.

Invention

Research from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has resulted in the synthesis of a series of materials exhibiting a range of dilatant properties. The materials show good transparency and are chemically uniform (e.g. consisting of a single chemical component). The degree of dilatancy is easily controlled by adjusting the compositions of the materials. Due to the range of dilatant properties, good transparency, and single chemical component nature of the dilatant samples, these materials show significant promise for novel uses in protective equipment and other areas related to impact protection, especially where transparency is desirable. 

Applications

Platform technology with possible applications in impact protection and shock absorption, as well as armored and protective glass

Key Benefits

• Material displays dilatant properties;
• Degree of dilatancy can be modified by adjusting the monomer composition;
• Transparency is easily controlled;
• Excellent adhesive properties suitable for layered glass applications.