Shear-thickening polymer (STP) has a unique property of increasing its viscosity with an increase in shear strain to attenuate the application of force, implying that it can be used as a material for hip protectors. This study introduces a new hip protector composed of STP and compares its force attenuation capacity to that of other commercial hip protectors in simulated sideways falls. The performance of the STP-based hip protector was analyzed against eight commercial hip protectors (Pelican, Posey, SafeHip, Hornsby, FallSafe, HipSaver, Impact Wear (Hard), Impact Wear (Soft)). The simulated sideways fall conditions were created by a drop weight impact testing system using an anatomical hip model. The machine was dropped from a 20 or 30 cm height resulting in impact energy of 25.1 J (low) or 44.1 J (moderate), respectively. At low impact energy, the commercial hip protectors showed an attenuation range from 21.6 % to 53.3 %, and the STP-based hip pad was able to attenuate the force by 42.7 %. At moderate impact energy, the commercial hip protectors showed an attenuation range from 23 % to 54.3 %, and the STP-based hip pad was able to attenuate the force by 32.6 %. The low coefficient of variance showed a high precision in the execution of the experiments. Although the STP-based hip protector was thinner than the average of commercial soft shell pads and retained comfortable fit, it showed comparable force attenuation capacity to the commercial ones for the low impact energy test. This study highlights that STP, in combination with a polyurethane foam layer, provides the best features in energy-absorption and shunting, showing that it can be used in hip protectors to gain a competitive advantage over others.

增粘剪切聚合物（STP）具有独特的特性，可随着剪切应变的增加而增加其粘度，从而减弱力的施加，这意味着它可用作髋关节保护器的材料。这项研究介绍了一种由STP组成的新型髋部保护器，并将其在模拟的侧向跌落中的力衰减能力与其他商用髋部保护器进行了比较。分析了基于STP的髋部防护器与八种商用髋部防护器（鹈鹕，波西，SafeHip，Hornsby，FallSafe，HipSaver，抗冲击（硬），抗冲击（软））的性能。通过使用人体解剖学解剖模型的落锤冲击测试系统创建了模拟的侧向跌落条件。机器从20或30厘米高处掉落，其冲击能量分别为25.1 J（低）或44.1 J（中）。在低冲击能量下 商业髋部防护器的衰减范围为21.6％至53.3％，基于STP的髋部护垫能够将力量衰减42.7％。在中等冲击能量下，商用髋部保护器的衰减范围为23％至54.3％，而基于STP的髋部护垫能够将力衰减32.6％。低方差系数显示了实验执行的高精度。尽管基于STP的髋部保护器比市售的软壳护垫薄并且保持舒适贴合性，但在低冲击能量测试中，其显示了与市售的护腕相当的力衰减能力。这项研究强调，STP与聚氨酯泡沫层相结合，可在能量吸收和分流方面提供最佳功能，