Marc Cohen, CEO of Hypetex, examines the increased use of advanced composites in sport
In sport, it used to be the case that advanced composites, such as carbon fibre, were the preserve of high-tech championships like Formula 1, where teams battle to shave every gram of weight off their cars.
But in recent years a wide range of sports have been adopting composites technology as they discover that the benefits go far beyond mere weight-saving. From running to tennis and hockey to football, advanced composite technology is finding favour.
Here is why I think its use is only set to grow, becoming integral to almost every piece of sporting equipment in future:
1. Power
Carbon fibre and other advanced composites have both a higher coefficient of restitution (COR) and a high recoil speed, meaning they return more energy than other materials when loaded. In sporting terms, this means you can hit a ball faster and harder.
This is the case in ice hockey, where almost all top players use sticks made entirely of carbon fibre composite.
In racquet sports like tennis and badminton, carbon fibre is even more integral for its ability to store and return energy through bending in the shaft. Most brands utilise these performance benefits in their top-end racquets.
Badminton racquet maker Yonix has attempted to further this technology by uniformly dispersing carbon nanotubes into carbon fibre composites to increase stiffness. This provides even more energy storage and faster snapback for imposing power.
2. Precision
Power is all well and good, but it usually needs to be combined with precision. Advanced materials offer lighter weight and stiffer structures, providing additional control to players over their equipment.
The Adidas Kromaskin hockey stick, made from Hypetex material, was used by England women’s hockey captain Hollie Pearne-Webb, as well as a number of other team members as they took gold at the recent Commonwealth Games.
The stick, which features a colourised carbon fibre outer layer of spread tow materials, outperformed other benchmark sticks on the market in laboratory tests in terms of power, precision and consistency.
Advancements in spreading technologies (eg. Textreme) and resins allow these materials to be produced in thinner sheets. The thinner sheets give engineers more freedom in terms of placing material strategically, increasing various moduli, further reducing weight and increasing performance.
3. Speed
Carbon fibre is renowned for its incredible stiffness and strength to weight ratio. At the same time, it has the ability to store and release a substantial amount of strain energy with even a small amount of material.
This is why top-level running shoes now have carbon fibre plates inserted in the soles to provide increased speed and bounce.
Nike has been the benchmark in this area with its ZoomX Vaporfly Next% trainer. It features a full-length carbon-fibre plate that increases forward momentum and reduces stress on the ankle. The plate absorbs and stores the energy from every step taken via bending and then returns it in the next stride for added power, increasing a runner’s efficiency which is particularly helpful in long distance events. The inherent rigidity of the plate also reduces muscle vibration and, therefore, fatigue.
This has been so successful that World Athletics has limited the amount of carbon fibre that can be used in a professional running shoe to a single-layer plate. Even so, this technology is now ubiquitous in top-level distance running.
4. Development
As carbon fibre becomes more prevalent, equipment manufacturers have developed clever ways to use it to suit different sports. Adidas, for instance, has developed a dynamic carbon outsole for football boots that consists of a series of small, strategically placed plates that provide both support and energy return. Its Speedframe plate is used by players such as Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
5. Protection
Stiffness-to-weight ratio is a well-known quality of advanced composites. The property is owed to thin carbon atoms being bonded together on the long axis of the fibre, giving it a strong structural bond.
The stiffness of carbon fibre enables engineers to produce rigid shells that disperse impacts over a large area. Where this really excels is in protection, with carbon fibre helmets able to withstand more significant shocks, particularly in water sports as it is resistant to oxidation in corrosive environments, such as salt water or chemicals.
Other protective equipment, such as Russell Athletic’s American Football chest and shoulder pads work to disperse the energy of an impact without compromising the player’s range of motion or speed on the pitch by combining a breathable compression vest with a carbon fibre exoskeleton.
6. Sustainability
The materials industry is working hard to find novel solutions to sustainable manufacturing, which will lead to even more increased use of advanced composites to the sporting world. Enter flax fibres, which are carbon dioxide neutral. Flax itself is 100% natural and biodegradable, meaning it can be easily disposed of or broken down into raw materials and re-used, while retaining core strength thanks to its long, cellulose fibres.
Flax fibres are already used in new sports such as the global eSkootr Championship.
Best of all, flax fibre can also be colourised, using Hypetex technology, so expect to see its usage become even more prevalent in the coming years.
Check out www.hypetex.com for more info.
Marc Cohen is the CEO of British composites firm Hypetex, the world’s first manufacturer of coloured carbon fibre.
