Chain Mail Fabric a Perfect FitFebruary 23rd, 2007 in Technology / Engineering
The micromachined chain mail fabric is made of links and rings, which can slide against each other to create a flexible fabric. Credit: Engel
Chain Mail Fabric a Perfect FitFebruary 23rd, 2007 in Technology / Engineering
The micromachined chain mail fabric is made of links and rings, which can slide against each other to create a flexible fabric. Credit: Engel, et al.
Contemporaries of the ancient Greeks might find something familiar within the walls of the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab at the University of Illinois. In constructing a new type of smart fabric, researchers Jonathan Engel and Chang Liu have used interconnecting rings and links to create a textile looking a bit like the chain mail used by warriors dating back 2,000-plus years.
“It’s somewhat of a crazy idea, I guess,” Liu told PhysOrg.com. “We were interested in using microtechnology to build something that could flex and bend. The chain mail construction is nothing fancy, but it’s an interesting structure that hasn’t been used much recently.”
As a flexible MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) device, the new fabric represents a milestone in the development of smart textiles. A type of smart device, smart textiles will likely be incorporated into wearable computers—shirts that can detect vital signs, locate bullet wounds, or provide an information network for soldiers on a dispersed battleground, according to recent research (Georgia Tech). Generally, most work on smart fabrics involves integrating the electronic elements into conventional fabrics. Engel and Liu’s integrated circuit, however, is the fabric—a continuous, flexible and stretchable metallic cloth with unique electrical and mechanical properties.
One of the interesting physical characteristics of the micro chain mail is its ability to bend along two axes, allowing the fabric to drape over curved surfaces, wrinkle-free. This ability comes from the geometric network of rings connected by links—each piece of about half a millimeter in length—which can slide and rotate against each other. As the links are pulled taut, the researchers found that the fabric’s length could expand by