Young scientists of VSTU presented the results of their research as part of the IV stage of the Republican Festival of University Science, which was held at their university.
Not "biocoat", but still
Ilya Doroshenko, a postgraduate student of the Department of "Machines and Technologies of High-Efficiency Processing", presented his development at the forum – an experimental installation for forming non-woven materials from polymer nanofibers for medical and veterinary applications. The young researcher was inspired by a short note on the Internet about foreign scientists creating "biocoat" – an innovative material similar to a biological patch that allows rapid healing of damaged skin areas.
The manufacturing process is complex and expensive. Ilya developed his own simplified version of creation, not of "biocoat", but of an analogue with similar functions and properties. Tests conducted at the Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine proved that the application of the obtained materials indeed accelerates the recovery process of animals.
– The installation was created under the scientific supervision of Associate Professor Igor Alekseev as part of the state scientific program "Functional and Composite Materials, Nanomaterials". It allows for the production of non-woven products from nanofibers as a biocompatible substitute for existing dressings in the treatment of wounds and other skin damage. Their use can reduce medication dosage, accelerate healing, and shorten the overall recovery time. No one in Belarus had done this before,– said Ilya Doroshenko.
Knitwear for Health
VSSTU scientists are also working on the creation of knitted biocompatible compression garments. Candidate of Technical Sciences, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Automation of Technological Processes and Productions, Natalia Nadezhnaya, under the scientific supervision of Associate Professor of the Department of Textile Materials Technology, Alexander
Charkovskogo, in cooperation with scientists from the Department of Oncology of the Vitebsk State Order of Friendship of Peoples Medical University, as part of the implementation of the industry-specific scientific and technical program "Innovative Technologies in the Light Industry," for which the "Bellegprom" concern acted as the state customer, has developed a medical compression sleeve for the postoperative rehabilitation of breast cancer patients. The product is already mass-produced by Zhodino OJSC "Svitanak" from a special knitted fabric of a unique structure and is sold through the company's branded store network.
Clothing for Superman
Special clothing for firefighters and rescuers was developed jointly with the research center of the Vitebsk regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus by VSTU postgraduate students Vera Dovydenkova and Roman Okunev under the scientific supervision of Professor Valery Olshansky as part of the state scientific research program "Informatics and Space. Emergency Protection." It protects against increased thermal effects and is designed for operation in high-temperature conditions: up to 800°C of open flame. Moreover, the young scientists created not only a unique variant for Belarus of a metallized heat-resistant material on a woven base of silica fibers, which is not inferior in characteristics to foreign analogues and is cheaper, but also a special technology for joining the costume elements – chemical overedging of seam allowances.
The production of equipment with enhanced protective properties will be carried out by RPUPE "Uniform".
It has already been recognized outside of Belarus: the protective clothing received a gold medal at the St. Petersburg exhibition-fair "HI-TECH-2014" and was awarded a diploma as the best innovative project and the best scientific and technical development.
In addition, the young scientists have developed another version of "superhero clothing" – a unique water and heat-resistant jumpsuit with an internal thermal insulation layer. It can be used for emergency rescue operations in water at temperatures ranging from 0 to 70°C. The jumpsuit has already undergone laboratory testing, and normative and technical documentation for its industrial implementation is being prepared.
Linen Weaves
About 20 innovative developments by Natalia Akindinova, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor of the Department of Textile Materials Technology, have been implemented in production.
A graduate of VSTU worked at the Orsha Linen Mill for 10 years, and then, enrolling in the university's postgraduate program, under the scientific supervision of Galina Kazarnovskaya, Head of the Design Department, she began developing fabrics of new structures and products from them, possessing innovative technological, artistic, and functional effects.
– Manufacturers
often refuse to make tapestries due to the complexity of their production: special
multicolored equipment is required. A new patented technology allows the use of
even two-color weaving looms, – explains the young scientist.
Her
research work "Technology of furniture and decorative fabrics of new tapestry
structures" was recognized by the Higher Attestation Commission of the Republic
of Belarus as the best dissertation of 2015 in the field of technical sciences.
– The
use of linen-cottonized yarn after special treatment allows achieving voluminous
effects, creased, porous, and terry textures of the fabric. The Orsha Linen Mill
has already mastered the serial production of such fabrics, which are supplied
not only to the domestic market but also exported to other countries,
– said Natalia Akinidinova.
Natalia
Kamleva. Photos by Anton Stepanishchev. "Vitebskiye Vesti".
