Not only protects your Head but also protects your Environment
SOILTECH, the pioneer in design and application of slope stabilization and prevention of landslides in Sri Lanka with their policy standing for identification of measures adaptable for sustainable development, thereby minimizing the interruptions to the cycle of the ecosystem, has invented a Safety Helmet using coir. Here, Gayathri Hiranya, a Material Scientist at Soil Tech, talks about their invention.
I was impressed by the fact that coconut fiber can be used in developing a safety helmet. Can you explain to me how you got this idea of using coir for a helmet?
Soil Tech management is oriented in the direction of developing an innovative idea and making an effort to produce a marketable item. As you know the coconut husk which is mainly coir provides protection to the seed while being lightweight and soft. The idea of the helmet stemmed from that. The helmet does not exactly provide protection the way the coconut husk does. We rather made use of the properties of coir in developing the helmet. The most important part of this idea is that coir which is a by-product of the coconut industry is abundant and cheap. It was obvious that a lot of value addition could be made to coir if a safety helmet that meets the required international standards is developed.
How far have you come in its development?
Good question, this is a patented product and we started working on the helmet about 1 ½ years ago and within this short period we have come a long way. We experimented with various binding materials and different temperature and pressure conditions in order to understand the optimum conditions required for commercial production of the helmet. Now we are on the threshold of compiling the required components of machinery for commercial production. The product still has to undergo stringent tests so that we can assure ourselves of a product that is superior to what is available in the market.
What makes coir a suitable material for a safety helmet?
Coir is a lingo-cellulosic natural fiber. Because of this, it has a lower amount of cellulose content and highest concentrations of lignin than other fibers, which makes it stronger. Coir is lightweight having a density of 1.1 -1.5 grams per cubic centimeter, and it is durable. Most of the physical and mechanical properties are based on the fiber’s chemical property. Lignin in the cell walls gives rigidity and color. Furthermore, the rigidity of the cell wall gives resistance towards compression and bending, as well as protection against attack by microorganisms. The phenolic groups in lignin are said to be responsible for initiating the absorbent property and also affect the elasticity property of the product.
What are the other materials used in the process?
We use rubber centrifuge latex as the main binding agent that keeps the coir together and we use a resin and a hardener. We are also working on developing a suitable fabric harness and an inner lining. Because from the field investigation, we identified that plastic harness is very uncomfortable to the technicians. So we are now designing a fabric harness as an alternative.
Why do you say that people should use coir based helmets rather than other safety helmets?
Eco coir safety helmet is designed to protect the wearer against falling parts and prevent a fractured skull or injuries to the brain. Regarding the main protection aim, eco coir safety helmet consists of an outer shell made of rubberized coir fibers combined with a compound. Coir has a low thermal conductivity and heat transfer through the coir-based helmet is slow. Therefore, the person who wears the helmet feels comfortable. This is particularly important for the working conditions in tropical countries.
The coir helmet does not burst into flames thus, in a case of any accidental fires, the coir helmet is safer to use. Like a plastic helmet, the coir safety helmet also has the water-repellent feature.
The helmet surface does not make a loud sound when objects fall on it. This is achieved by the architecture of hollow and rigid nature of coir fiber as it tends to absorb more sound than plastic helmets.
Lastly, it deflects falling objects with its smooth and rounded shape. A helmet with protruding ridges tends to arrest falling objects rather than to deflect them and thus retain slightly more kinetic energy than helmets which are perfectly smooth.
This project is very interesting and it has all the potential for developing as a hi-tech industry. Soil Tech’s effort in this direction is remarkable. Have your vision and devotion been recognized by outside parties?
Good point. Right throughout the development of the helmet, we made presentations of the progress achieved with the project and these were well received. Many institutions have praised our vision and our efforts in elevating the standard of the item to a level where it can secure a place in the local and foreign markets.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is such an institute that not only recognized the uniqueness of the vision behind the development of the helmet but also provided financial support for the final stages of the development, particularly for testing and quality control. I take this occasion to express the Company's appreciation to the NSF that always encourages work on innovations and inventions.
Is the helmet project really out of its research phase and well into the production phase? Explain to me the current situation.
You know, our work will continue until we come out with the best product. So, it is too early to say that the research phase is over. Besides, the helmet has to undergo rigorous testing over a long period in different scenarios. Nevertheless, we have initiated the basic processes that are necessary for the commencement of commercial production.
Do you think the coir helmet is acceptable related to the available plastic helmet? I mean are the required properties the same?
Yes, of course, we tested our final product in Moratuwa University where they carried out tests for ISO 3873-1977 standards, resistance to penetration test, flame resistance, electrical insulation and lateral rigidity test. And also we sent this helmet to the UK for further testing. And for your question we are not focusing on replacing the plastic helmet. We just think a bit different to achieve eco-friendliness and we are pretty much sure our product will compete with the available helmets in the market. And our management has already taken another step to convert our innovation to a bicycle helmet with new modifications.
The eco-friendly concept seems more popular these days. How does your product help in achieving this concept?
It's like this; our main raw material is coir. It is a waste by-product of coconut kernel based manufacturing industries. Since the industrial revolution has started the pollution of air and water has increased. So by using coir we are trying to reduce usage of synthetic material. In manufacturing this coir based helmet, we didn't use any highly hazardous chemicals. We thoroughly consider the chemicals we are using because a helmet, being a wearable thing, should not be toxic to the human skin and should be comfortable and environmentally friendly.
The safety helmets available to us in the market are made of synthetic materials that are not biodegradable. As you know the production processes of synthetic materials and the item produced using them are associated with high energy consumption and the processes release toxic chemicals into the environment. Processing of coir is a low energy process and it does not release unfavorable chemicals. Production of the coir based helmet is also a low energy process. So you can see that the production of the coir helmet is environmentally much less harmful than the production of helmets with synthetic materials that are also not biodegradable.
By inventing a product such as the coir helmet, are you directly targeting the mass market?
Here, we have to understand something of utmost importance. In an era where natural fiber based products are gaining increasing market acceptance, the coir industry in Sri Lanka seems to be losing its international market share. The present innovations aim to assess the suitability of coir fiber for the use in presently available construction and products. Thereby the potential for marketable products can be determined. We hope that this kind of projects really support the local and international market orientation and it will lead to commercially acceptable results for the country.
Another thing I want to tell you is the main objective of our innovation is to develop the coir fiber industry in Sri Lanka by introducing this world-class product and state-of-the-art technology. So we decided to exhibit this product for the first time in the "Construct Exhibition" to be held in August 2016 at BMICH.