Schumacher's helmet holds the tank! What is it made of? (3 photos)

Schumacher's helmet was covered with one of the most durable materials which is produced by man - multilayer carbon fiber. Those same nanotechnologies that were in fashion 10 years ago, and now about them All have forgotten. Perhaps in vain!





Schuberth helmet made for Michael Schumacher in 2004 RF 1.5. He was so strong that a tank ran over him and he remained whole

At the time, the helmet cost $20,000. And they decided to use the technology for the production of other helmets. And not in vain!

It was this carbon layering technology that saved lives famous Brazilian racing driver Felipe Massa in Hungary in 2009.

The spring broke off from another car. Ferrari Masses was moving at that moment at a speed of 260 km per hour. Imagine how hard was the spring hit on the head? However, the helmet survived, and the effects of the blow were easily cured. Massa was discharged from the hospital after a few days.

The helmet is made up of 18 layers of T 1000 carbon fiber. In comparison, conventional motorcycle helmets are covered with three layers.



Structure of carbon fiber

The advantages of carbon fiber cannot be overestimated. In addition to high strength, it greatly reduces the weight of such helmets - by about 30%. And this very important, as it reduces the load on the neck during overloads and during braking. For example, stress on the neck during normal braking racing car increases six (!) times.

Carbon fiber has very high strength stretching: 3500 to 7000 megapascals. For comparison, structural steel has a strength of only up to 550 megapascals.

Carbon fiber is a material that is made up of thin threads with a diameter of 3 to 15 microns. For comparison, the thickness of a hair is 30-70 microns.

The Japanese do not disclose details on their T 100. It is only known that they subject the material to high temperature treatment and carefully control the crystal structure and orientation of the carbon fiber.



Naturally, such material is used not only in helmets. It is very useful in aerospace and manufacturing automotive components. After all, here you need not only strength, but also weight loss. Its structures are lightweight. Usually at two times lighter than aluminum.

Yes, and the material "gets tired" slowly - it withstands many cycles of loads before it deteriorates.