A team of researchers from the University of Colorado of Boulder and U.S. Sandia National Laboratories has created a new design for padding — for use in everything from football pads to shipping crates — that can potentially withstand big impacts.

According to the researchers, the new design features a modified, 3D-printed foam material that buckles under the force of an impact — unlike current foam cushioning materials that compress when squeezed hard enough and become rigid.

Source: The University of Colorado of Boulder

To enable this, the team used algorithms to redesign the geometry of the cushioning materials, by reorganizing the foam’s interior into a network of honeycombs and kinks — like those found in the bellows of an accordion. Those kinks reportedly guide the honeycombs as they collapse during an impact, thereby enabling a smoother collapse.

When trialed in an impact-testing machine in the lab, the newly designed material absorbed 25% more force that current padding foams, according to its developers.

The material is detailed in the article “Tunable Metamaterials for Impact Mitigation,” which appears in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.

To see the material withstand force from an impact-testing machine, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of the University of Colorado of Boulder.