Extreme lightweight structures: avian feathers and bones

Sullivan, Tarah N.; Wang, Bin; Espinosa, Horacio D.; Meyers, Marc A.

doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2017.02.004

Cited by 125 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The humerus, which has no feather attachments, has a higher LI than the CMC, due to the fact that during flight, the ulna is nearly perpendicular to the humerus and cannot rotate. The bending moment of the ulna is thus transferred to the humerus as a torsional moment (Biewener & Dial, ; Sullivan et al, ). Although both species, the brown pelican and griffon vulture, have a similar number of primary flight feathers and a similar attachment site for the feathers, significant differences were observed in the LI of CMC compared to the humerus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CMC showed a lower mineral density together with lower laminarity and a more elliptically shaped midshaft than the humerus and ulna, and thus this bone appears proportionally lighter and less strong than the other bones analyzed. At the same time, the CMC shape is optimized to tackle bending forces (Lochmuller et al, ; Sullivan et al, ). In contrast, both the humerus and ulna maintain a greater density, circular shaped midshaft and higher laminarity in order to better resist torsional loads (Dumont, ; Marelli & Simons, ; Simons & O'Connor, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correlations have been found between the form and function, indicating that bird wing morphology is subject to selective pressures associated with aerodynamic performance (Rayner, ). Flight is an energy‐demanding system of locomotion with strong selective pressures on the wing bones, which act to obtain a high lift‐to‐weight ratio (Sullivan, Wang, Espinosa, & Meyers, ). Flying vertebrates have wing bones developed to support the wing lift force.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural features of cross‐sectional wing bones in the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)as a prediction of flight style

Frongia

Muzzeddu²,

Mereu

et al. 2018

Journal of Morphology

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Flight is an energetically costly form of transport imparting biomechanical stress that acts upon the wing bones. Previous studies have suggested that the cross-sectional and microstructural features of wing bones may be adapted to resist biomechanical loads. During flight, however, each wing bone potentially experiences a unique loading regime. To assess possible differences among wing bones, we analyzed the microstructural features of the humerus, radius, ulna, and carpometacarpus (CMC) in eight griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus). Vascular canal orientation was evaluated in the diaphysis of the wing bones. Laminarity index (LI) was significantly different in the humerus versus CMC and ulna versus CMC. Results showed a lower proportion of circular vascular canals, due to resistance to torsional loads, in CMC than in humerus and ulna. The midshaft cross-section revealed an elliptical shape in the CMC compared to the circular shape observed in the other wing bones, with a maximum second moment of inertia (I max ) orientation which suggests a capacity to withstand bending loads in a dorsoventral direction. The volumetric bone mineral density in the diaphysis was statistically different in CMC compared to the other bones analyzed. Its lower mineral density may reflect an adaptation to a different type and load of stresses in CMC compared to the proximal wing bones. No significant difference was found in the relative cortical area (CA/TA) among the four elements, while the polar moment of area J (Length-standardized) revealed a higher resistance to torsional load in the humerus than in the other bones. Our results would seem to indicate that griffon wing bones are structured as an adaptation, represented by two segments that respond to force in two ways: the proximal segment is specially adapted to resist torsional loads, whereas the distal one is adapted to resist bending loads. K E Y W O R D Sbone mineral content, geometry, laminarity, soaring

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural features of cross‐sectional wing bones in the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)as a prediction of flight style

Frongia

Muzzeddu²,

Mereu

et al. 2018

Journal of Morphology

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“…These findings suggest that feather crests in other birds also might play a previously unrecognized 52 mechanosensory functional role. Crest feathers and other types of feathers found on the heads of birds have received little attention in the literature, especially in comparison to the significant 54 body of literature on the morphology and mechanical properties of wing, tail and train covert feathers [16]. In addition, no research has considered whether birds, like some arthropods, might 56 detect air-borne stimuli generated during social displays via mechanoreception, or what influence this may have on their social interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we investigated the biomechanical properties of avian crests to enable a comparison between their resonant properties and oscillatory airborne stimuli characteristic of 148 social displays. While a significant body of literature exists on the mechanical properties of wing, tail and train covert feathers for a wide variety of bird species (Sullivan et al, 2017), no 150 previous work has considered crest feathers or other types of feathers found on the head. To explore this question, we first review the physical acoustics relevant to vibrotactile detection of 152 mechanical sounds.…”

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confidence: 99%

Biomechanics of the peafowl’s crest reveals frequencies tuned to social displays

Kane

Beveren

Dakin

2017

Preprint

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Summary statement: Avian crest feathers have mechanical properties that make them suitable 18 for sensing airflows generated during multimodal social displays. 20. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. It is made available under a The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/197525 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Oct. 2, 2017; 2 ABSTRACT 22Feathers act as vibrotactile sensors that can detect mechanical stimuli during avian flight and tactile navigation, suggesting that they may also function to detect signals during social 24 displays. We explored this novel sensory modality using the crest plumage of Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus). We first determined whether the airborne stimuli generated by peafowl 26 courtship and social displays couple efficiently via resonance to the vibrational response of feather crests from the heads of peafowl. Peafowl crests were found to have fundamental 28 resonant modes with frequencies that could be driven near-optimally by the shaking frequencies used by peafowl performing train vibrating displays. Crests also were driven to vibrate near 30 resonance when audio recordings of sounds generated by these displays were played back in the acoustic near-field, where such displays are experienced in vivo. When peacock wing-shaking 32 courtship behaviour was simulated in the laboratory, the resulting directional airflow excited measurable vibrations of crest feathers. These results suggest that peafowl crests have properties 34 that make them suitable mechanosensors for airborne stimuli generated during social displays. Such stimuli could complement acoustic perception, thereby enhancing detection and 36 interpretation of social displays. Diverse feather crests are found in many bird species that perform similar displays, suggesting that this proposed sensory modality may be widespread, and 38 possibly derived from flow sensing in other contexts. We suggest behavioral studies to further explore these ideas and their functional implications. 40

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Tailored Torsion and Bending‐Resistant Avian‐Inspired Structures

et al. 2022

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The escalating demand for torsion‐ and bending‐resistant structures paired with the need for more efficient use of materials and geometries, have led to novel bio‐inspired ingenious solutions. However, lessons from Nature could be as inspiring as they are puzzling: plants and animals offer an enormous range of promising but hierarchically complex configurations. Avian bones are prominent candidates for addressing the torsional and bending issue. They present a unique intertwining of simple components: helicoidal ridges and crisscrossing struts, able to bear flexural and twisting actions of winds. Here, it is set how to harmonically move from the natural to the engineering level to formalize and analyze the biological phenomena under controlled design conditions. The effect of ridges and struts is isolated and combined toward tailored torsion and bending‐resistant arrangements. Then the biological level is revisited to extrapolate the avian allometric design approach and is translated into multiscale lightweight structures at the engineering level. This study exploits the complexity of Nature and the scalability that characterizes the evolutionary design of bird bones through the design and fabrication versatility allowed by additive manufacturing technologies. This paves the way for exploring the transferability of the proposed solution at multiple engineering scales.

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Extreme lightweight structures: avian feathers and bones

Cited by 125 publications

References 71 publications

Structural features of cross‐sectional wing bones in the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)as a prediction of flight style

Structural features of cross‐sectional wing bones in the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus)as a prediction of flight style

Biomechanics of the peafowl’s crest reveals frequencies tuned to social displays

Tailored Torsion and Bending‐Resistant Avian‐Inspired Structures

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