JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #145 - April/May 2022 - 24

MANUFACTURlNG cooperation
offering low wind resistance and high
reliability. For its part, FAW Group was
in charge of the design and manufacture
of the bobsleigh's chassis, frame and
other metal parts.
In September 2021, the first batch of
four domestically-made bobsleighs
was officially delivered, including two
2-person and two 4-person bobsleighs.
Chinese media say that by now, China
already has the industrialization capacity
to produce 60 to 100 bobsleighs per
year.
Graphene-enhanced clothing to heat
up volunteers and service personnel
" During the Beijing Winter Olympics, many
people will have to be in an ultra-low-temperature
environment. In addition to traditional
down jackets, cotton jackets and other
warming methods, a safer, more efficient, and
heat-keeping scientific and technological heat
protection method is needed " , said Wang
Yizhen, R&D director of Hengshui Lǜneng
Jiaye New Material Technology Co.
The company is based in Hebei province,
as is Zhangjiakou, the city where the
2022 Winter Olympics will be held,
along with the co-host city Beijing. With
the assistance of the Hebei Provincial
Development of Science and Technology,
Lǜneng Jiaye developed clothing, including
underwear, gloves, socks and scarves,
made of graphene.
According to Wang Yizhen, graphene is a
new type of nanomaterial with the highest
thermal conductivity. It has ultra-high
strength and ultra-high thermal conductivity,
and is hailed as the " king of new
materials " by the industry.
The heated clothes will be very helpful
for people who need to stay outdoors for
extended periods, such as volunteers and
service personnel. Wearers can switch on
the clothing's heat when they feel cold.
Heat regulator,
performance enhancer
Graphene is likely to be in the spotlight
at Beijing 2022 as it is not only used to
generate heat, but also to regulate it.
According to the online publication for the
nanotechnology community, AzoNano, the
Netherlands national cycling team at the
Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games was wearing
graphene-based shirts using the Thermal
Planar Circuit (TPC) technology designed
by Directa Plus (worldwide producers and
suppliers of graphene nanoplatelets).
24
jec composites magazine / N°
duced by companies in the United
States, Canada, Italy, Austria or the
Netherlands, and their price is up to
ten times that of Chinese speed skating
shoes.
More information:
www.spacechina.com - www.faw.com
In order to change this situation,
Professor Yang Jintian, professor
of sports biomechanics at Hebei
University of Economics and Business,
and his scientific research team
began to invest in the research and
development of a new generation of
independently-developed carbon fibre
skates in June 2020. The R&D team
consists of multidisciplinary experts
such as sports biomechanics and computer
science specialists.
Graphene heating down vests and heating
scarves presented during the Beijing Science and
Technology Week (photo credit: Xinhua)
The high-performance shirts can absorb
heat produced by the body and distribute
it through the material. The shirts then
dissipate this heat to the surrounding
environment. Arguably helped by these
properties, Annemiek van Vleuten of the
Dutch Cycling Team won the gold medal in
the Individual Time Trial (ITT).
During the same Tokyo 2020 Olympics,
Kim Je-deok won two gold medals for the
South Korean men's archery team. The
17-year-old used a graphene-enhanced bow
to hit gold in both the mixed team and the
men's archery competitions. Designed by
Win&Win, the bow is reported to be 60%
more durable than carbon nanotube alternatives
and 20% more shock absorbing.
More information:
www.hebust.edu.cn
3D-printed high-end
carbon fibre skates to
replace foreign brands
The world-renowned carbon fibre
speed skating shoes are mostly pro145
April - May 2022
" High-performance carbon fibre composite
materials offer high strength,
corrosion resistance, small deformation
and light weight, which can effectively
improve the performance of speed
skating shoes and achieve lightweight
manufacturing, thus helping improve the
athletes' competitive performance " , said
Yang Jintian.
The project aims to use high-performance
carbon fibre composite materials
for the research and development of
speed skating skates. To this end, the
team established a database of speed
skaters' feet and soles, and developed a
3D sole scanning and printing system.
After more than a year of scientific
and technological research, the team
successfully developed the first generation
of high-performance carbon
fibre composite speed skating skates.
According to Yang Jintian, compared
with Chinese high-end speed-skating
skates, the carbon fibre skates are 3%
to 4% lighter with a 7% higher peel
strength.
Accurate database
" Collecting accurate foot shape data is
the key to the success of the entire R&D
project. This seemingly simple step requires
extremely fine details in practice " ,
Yang Jintian underlined. He explained
that speed skaters' custom skates are
http://www.spacechina.com http://www.faw.com http://www.hebust.edu.cn
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #145 - April/May 2022

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