Bite Resistant Clothing
In relation to the zombie virus, it is a virus spread by direct contact of bodily fluids, most commonly this comes in the form of a bite where the virus passes from the saliva from a zombie into the bloodstream of an unaffected person.
When assessing and reducing the possibility and the impact of any sort of risk, there are two methods that are often undertaken, elimination and/or mitigation Elimination is where aspects of the potentially dangerous activity are removed. For example in the inspection of wind turbines, this used to be done by teams who climbed to the top to check for any damage. These teams working at height presents a risk to them. Increasingly this is being done by drones, as it can do the same inspection with minimal risk. Mitigation is where the severity of the consequence is reduced, typically by the use of special tools, safety equipment, or safety clothing (PPE). people working at heights wear harnesses, people working in low visibility areas like mines wear high-vis clothing etc |
In the case of zombies the elimination method would be to cut yourself off from the zombies completely by living somewhere isolated like an island, or fortified like a base of some kind. However over time you are likely to have to leave the safety of your position to find supplies and that is where you need to be able to keep yourself safe.
Clothing that is resistant to puctures by bites, therefore becomes an important piece of protective equipment to have. However some materials are much more resistant than others and you need to know what material types to search for in order to best protect yourself.
Clothing that is resistant to puctures by bites, therefore becomes an important piece of protective equipment to have. However some materials are much more resistant than others and you need to know what material types to search for in order to best protect yourself.
In this task you will use the bite testing rig provided (see image above) to test a range of different materials for their resistance to zombie bites.
a layer of playdoh about 2cm thick will be placed on the base board to act as a substitute for flesh, bubble wrap will cover the playdoh and will act as skin. Finally a later of the material being tested is placed over the top and the teeth dropped onto the stack. |
Popping bubble wrap will be an indication of the skin being punctured and hence the virus being transmitted. However in realtion to this task you will need to make choices about what factor you will choose to investigate. Some potential ideas are outlined below
Your results should examine the damage done both to the skin, and the underlying tissue. with the aim of providing the best advice to the survivors for how to protect themselves.
- How different types of teeth can effect the performance of the material (normal, missing teeth, sharp teeth, etc)
- How different drop angles effect the performance of the material (greater angle = greater bite force)
- How material thickness effects the performance
- Whether composite materials (layering different materials) provides improved performance
Your results should examine the damage done both to the skin, and the underlying tissue. with the aim of providing the best advice to the survivors for how to protect themselves.
Below are some resources to help you with this task. There is a template for the practical design as well as a STL file that will allow you to design your own teeth in Tinkercad.
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