Development of protective headwear compatible with flexibility and impact absorption

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is developing a novel protective headwear compatible with flexibility and impact absorption. In order to achieve the purpose, the soft epoxy foams, which shows extremely high strain rate dependency of compressive properties, was used as a cushioning material of headwear. To evaluate the performance of the epoxy foam as a cushioning material of headwear, the falling impact test assuming a head impact in daily life was performed, measuring HIC (Head Injury Criterion). The impact tests suggested that the proposed epoxy foams are effective as a cushioning material of a headwear.