Material benefits
High-tech fabrics: Advances in seemingly mundane textile technologies promise to make the world a safer place—using a variety of tricks
ON APRIL 29th a Boeing 747 cargo jet crashed just after take-off at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, killing all seven crew members. During the ascent, it seems, some heavy cargo broke free from its constraints and slid backwards, lifting the nose of the aircraft and making it stall. Such accidents have happened before. In 1997 a cargo plane leaving Miami crashed after pallets of denim shifted; all four of the crew and a motorist on the ground were killed. Accordingly, there is much interest in brawnier nets that can ensure air cargo stays put. Japan’s Nippon Cargo Airlines, TAP Portugal, and, as of this summer, Air France-KLM are using netting fabric that is much stronger than the polyester netting in wide use today.
This article appeared in the Technology Quarterly section of the print edition under the headline “Material benefits”
From the September 7th 2013 edition
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