Abstract
Inspired by the hierarchic structure of the loofah sponge and the stiffness transformation behavior of sea cucumbers, a novel strategy to achieve multi-physics protection through a biomimetic structural design was proposed. This biomimetic structure (STF-BIPM) effectively improved the stiffness of polyurethane (PU) foam. Furthermore, the stiffness of STF-BIPM increased with the compressive strain rate. STF-BIPM exhibited excellent impact resistance under dynamic loading. Compared with PU foam, the impact force of STF-BIPM was attenuated by 57.6 % and the energy absorption was improved by 25.7 %. Due to the porous structure of the PU part, STF-BIPM also had extremely low thermal conductivity (0.084 W m−1 k−1). Its upper surface temperature was only 39.0 °C after heating for 1000 s at 100.0 °C. Additionally, the STF-BIPM could act as a sensor to respond to the impact process and monitor human movement. Finally, based on the impact resistance, thermal insulation, and sensing of STF-BIPM, a smart fire suit was developed. The fire suit could not only achieve mechanical and thermal protection but also monitor mechanical injury behavior, which had a broad application prospect in the field of fire protection. This study provided an innovative means for the development of intelligent multi-physics protection.
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