Shoe cushioning to be improved thru intelligent fluids
07 Oct '06
3 min read
The research group of 'Physics of Interfaces and Colloidal Systems' of the Universidad de Granada, headed by professors Fernando González Caballero and Juan de Dios García Durán, works on producing fluids with properties that change when an external magnetic field is applied, as in the case of a magnet.
These are known as “intelligent fluids” and can be used in several areas, from hard industry to orthopaedic medicine and implants.
The fluids mentioned above consist of a suspension of iron particles in oil or water, modified by some special additives to improve certain characteristics. The result is a material which can flow and magnetise in a magnetic field. The fluids developed by these researchers from Granada change in viscosity when a magnetic field is applied.
“The fluid flows normally without the field, but when the field is applied the viscosity can change several orders of magnitude until it becomes a rigid structure and then recovers the fluidity again when the magnetic field is removed”, explains the researcher Guillermo Iglesias, the inventor.
The main function of these fluids in the design of shoes is to cushion and adapt the pressures exerted on the sole of the foot thanks to an insole filled with this liquid. According to the researcher, the fluid is located inside cavities connected by channels, which incorporate a group of springs and magnets that contract in order to come closer or move farther away from each other.
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