Tribochemical Degradation of Technical Textiles

Have you ever had the jitters while donning your harness before skydiving? Have you wondered if the parachute was reliable enough to get you to land safely? These safety-critical applications rely on technical textiles, advanced materials that prioritize performance. Any failure in these textiles can lead to loss of property and lives. This project evaluates and maps the degradation of high-tensile nylon webbings used in parachutes and safety harnesses.

To accomplish this, the webbing will be subjected to controlled mechanical forces, and its strength will be quantified using a tensile tester. This mechanical analysis will be supplemented by analytical techniques (e.g., FTIR and DSC) to characterize chemical changes at the polymer level. This research aims to develop field inspection criteria, improve lifetime estimations, and ultimately enhance the safety standards for this life-critical equipment.

Desired Skills: Background in Polymer Science, Textile Technology, Chemical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, or Chemistry.