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Background:
The development of protective equipment, particularly helmets, requires extensive simulation and optimization to minimize injury risks. Traditional computational methods rely on high-fidelity simulations that demand significant computational resources, making iterative design optimization slow and costly. Existing engineering simulation software incorporates design optimization but struggles with high computational overhead and numerical instability. This limitation restricts the speed and efficiency of developing safer, more effective protective gear.
Technology Overview:
Northeastern researchers have developed a novel computational framework utilizing Reduced-Order Modeling(ROM) to accelerate helmet design optimization. This method simplifies geometric and physical models to enable high-speed simulations without compromising accuracy. By integrating lightweight impact simulations with numerical optimization solvers, the system rapidly evaluates thousands of design conditions to identify optimal configurations that minimize injury risk while adhering to manufacturing constraints.
Unlike conventional high-order simulations, this approach enhances computational efficiency and stability, enabling seamless integration with industry-standard development pipelines. The system has already been proven in practice, achieving significant reductions in simulation costs and improving the precision of impact assessments.
Benefits:
- Accelerates design iteration through rapid simulation of thousands of conditions.
- Enables simultaneous analysis of a larger number of design parameters.
- Integrates with existing engineering workflows, improving development speed.
- Enhances injury estimation accuracy by simulating a larger number of impact conditions.
Application:
- Sports Helmet Design: Enhancing protection in football, hockey, and other contact sports.
- Military and Defense Gear: Optimizing helmets and protective armor for soldiers.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Improving impact resistance for industrial and safety gear.
- Medical and Rehabilitation Devices: Developing optimized protective headgear for injury prevention and recovery.
Opportunity:
- License
- Research collaboration
- Investment
