Experimental Investigation of Foams Suitable for Motorcycle Protectors

Protectors of motorcycle riders should be light and safe. This work deals with the impact test of the shoulder protectors, which differ with the use of foams of different densities. The acceleration and displacement of an impactor having the mass of five kilograms were measured. The impactor dropped from a height of one meter. For each sample, two impacts were used. The results show how the use of the different foams affects the deceleration of the impactor and the distance between the impactor and the base block (compression of the protector). Moreover, the results show how the deceleration and the distance change when the impact is repeated. The ideal protector would have low density, low maximum impact deceleration, low maximum protector compression, and its properties would not change when impact is repeated. The foam with good compromise properties was evaluated