Press Release
Intelligent Protective Clothing for HighOutput Lasers
Hannover, June 7th, 2013
In an EU project under the leadership of the Laser Zentrum
Hannover e.V. (LZH), passive and active protective systems
for jackets, trousers, aprons and gloves are being developed.
This clothing offers effective protection against laser
radiation with output densities of up to 20 Megawatts per
square meter.
Protective professional clothing for firefighters, for welders or
for chemists is readily available on the market. Despite the wide
use of lasers in industry and research, there is currently no
suitable protective clothing for the user, and when it comes to
hazards from intensive laser radiation, only suitable protective
laser eyewear has been classified and certified.
It is also important to have safety clothing to protect the skin,
especially for the increasing number of cutting and welding
applications with hand-guided laser systems. Operators are often
in the directly next to the interaction zone between the laser
beam and the materials to be processed, and often high-power
lasers are in use. Under unfavorable conditions, for example
when highly reflective surfaces are being processsed, the laser
beam may be quickly deflected towards the user, causing severe
skin burns. Also, near infrared laser radiation may penetrate into
deeper tissue, and damage blood vessels and other biological
tissue.
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
Press Release: Intelligent Protective Clothing for High-Output Lasers
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Press Release
Therefore, the laser protective clothing developed within the
framework of the EU “PROSYS” project is pursuing two
strategies. First, researchers have designed a passive system
with multi-layer technical textiles. The top layer has a special
coating which diffusely reflects the laser radiation as much as
possible. Radiation which may penetrate this first layer is then
evenly spread out by the middle layer. Any residual heat, at least
for a limited amount of time, which enters the energy barrier of
the inner layer, may trigger a pain sensation. “This is intentional.
Users should notice that they are being exposed to hazardous
radiation, so they have the chance to withdraw their hand or
arm,” explains Michael Hustedt, Head of the Safety Group at the
LZH, and coordinator of the PROSYS project. Normal reaction
time is up to 4 seconds, and the passive system can protect users
for output densities up to 900 kW/m2, making this protective
clothing 20 times more effective than what is presently available
on the market.
The effectivity of the protective clothing can be even further
improved by integrating an active system, which uses sensors
embedded in the different layers. If the sensors are damaged by
radiation, they send an electrical signal to the laser in less than
100 ms, and the laser is automatically shut off. The operators’
movement is not impaired, since the active system uses a
wireless communication system between the safety transmitter
and the receiver for the laser. Since the complete shut-down of
the laser may take approximately 80 milliseconds, a
combination of the active sensors and the passive protection
layers makes sense. This system offers protection against output
densities of up to 20 MW/m2.
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
Press Release: Intelligent Protective Clothing for High-Output Lasers
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Press Release
The international consortium, which is composed of three
research institutes, nine SMEs and one large enterprise, has
developed prototypes of the protective clothing, which have
been presented at different industrial fairs this year (e.g.
Hannover Messe, LASER World of Photonics). Plans are being
made for launching the products on the market soon.
Further developmental work will be, above all, concerned with
improving the active systems, making them even more robust
and flexible, without losing their protective functions. Practical
tests in an industrial setting should provide further information
for improving ergonomics and wearing comfort of the protective
clothing, in order to achieve high user acceptance. The focus of
this work is, for example, on reducing the weight of the material
and improving the haptic characteristics of the gloves.
The research project PROSYS-Laser was supported by the
European Union within the 7th Research Framework
Programme (project number NMP2-SE-2009-229165). The
partners of the LZH are the Centre Suisse d´Electronique et de
Microtechnique SA and the Sächsische Textilforschungsinstitut
e.V., as well as the enterprises CIM-mes Projekt sp. z o.o.,
Trans-Textil GmbH, TTI Technische Textilien International
GmbH, JUTEC GmbH, Grado Zero Espace S.r.l., Smartex S.r.l.,
TDV Industries, Promat International NV, Laser on demand
GmbH and Clean-Lasersysteme GmbH.
Contact:
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
Michael Botts
Hollerithallee 8
D-30419 Hannover, Germany
Tel.: +49 511 2788-151
Fax: +49 511 2788-100
E-Mail: m.botts@lzh.de
http://www.lzh.de
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
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Press Release
The Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) carries out research and development in the field of laser technology and is
supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport of the State of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsisches
Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Verkehr).
You can find the LZH press releases with a WORD-download and when possible illustrations at www.lzh.de under
"publications/press releases"
Illustration caption: Prototype of passive protective gloves for working with lasers with high output power
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
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