Centriquip, the centrifuge manufacturer from Derbyshire, has been working with its US partner, U.S. Centrifuge, to develop a way of testing boots for soldiers to make sure their feet stay dry in even the harshest conditions. The system uses a centrifuge to spin the boots around, filled with water, to prove that nothing leaks out: if nothing gets out, nothing will get in.
The idea came from a waterproof lining manufacturer in the USA that needed a way of testing its products. Spinning the boots around in a centrifuge forces the water to find any route through or around the waterproof material. Using the system the manufacturers can simulate many months of foot slogging in only a few minutes.
The machine is based upon Centriquip’s standard AS-type centrifuge. It can test up to
16 boots at a time, each containing 400cc of water, spinning them around at just 170rpm to create a water pressure of 2psi at the sole. Each cycle takes just 30 minutes.
The first machine was delivered in October to the customer in Puerto Rico. You won’t have to join the army to find out how successfully it works, the manufacturers say that the project will be extended to test other shoes and boots, even golf shoes will get the treatment to keep you dry even in the wettest of rough.
Centriquip is expecting to market the boot tester in the UK if there is sufficient demand. The company is the UK’s largest manufacture of decanter centrifuges.
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