Computational mechanics of the paddlefish rostrum

Abstract

Purpose The rostrum of a paddlefish provides hydrodynamic stability during feeding process in addition to detect the food using receptors that are randomly distributed in the rostrum. The exterior tissue of the rostrum covers the cartilage that surrounds the bones forming interlocking star shaped bones. Design/methodology/approach The aim of this work is to assess the mechanical behavior of four finite element models varying the type of formulation as follows: linear-reduced integration, linear-full integration, quadratic-reduced integration and quadratic-full integration. The paper also presents the load transfer mechanisms of the bone structure of the rostrum. The base material used in the study was steel with elastic–plastic behavior as a homogeneous material before applying materials properties that represents the behavior of bones, cartilages and tissues. Findings Conclusions are based on comparison among the four models. There is no significant difference between integration orders for similar type of elements. Quadratic-reduced integration formulation resulted in lower structural stiffness compared with linear formulation as seen by higher displacements and stresses than using linearly formulated elements. It is concluded that second-order elements with reduced integration are the alternative to analyze biological structures as they can better adapt to the complex natural contours and can model accurately stress concentrations and distributions without over stiffening their general response. Originality/value The use of advanced computational mechanics techniques to analyze the complex geometry and components of the paddlefish rostrum provides a viable avenue to gain fundamental understanding of the proper finite element formulation needed to successfully obtain the system behavior and hot spot locations.

Qualitative and Nutritional Evaluation of Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) Meat Production

“…The relation (5) proposed by Fernandez et al [55] was used to calculate the ratio between fatty acids with hypocholesterolemic (h) and hypercholesterolemic (H) effect.…”

“…The length of this rostrum can reach 1/3 of the total body size in adult specimens. In this species, tactile and electrical receptors were found, deployed as a network on the operculum and the rostrum [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Instrumenting Polyodon spathula (Paddlefish) Rostra in Flowing Water with Strain Gages and Accelerometers

“…This approach was validated in their work [19][20][21] using classical approaches. Recently, Riveros et al [22] developed finite-element models (FEM) to evaluate the mechanical behavior of the rostrum.…”