Influence of moisture on the mechanical behavior of a natural composite

Johnson, Melissa; Walter, Scott; Flinn, Brian D.; Mayer, G.

doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2009.12.006

Cited by 46 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…These values correspond to measurements of the mechanical properties of spongin in a related species28. Furthermore, measurements of the Young’s modulus of spicules from a related species42 indicate that the silica is between four and five orders of magnitude stiffer than the spongin. We will present Young’s modulus measurements of the Sxa from our own work in a future paper.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

A new structure-property connection in the skeletal elements of the marine sponge Tethya aurantia that guards against buckling instability

Monn

Kesari

2017

Sci Rep

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We identify a new structure-property connection in the skeletal elements of the marine sponge Tethya aurantia. The skeletal elements, known as spicules, are millimeter-long, axisymmetric, silica rods that are tapered along their lengths. Mechanical designs in other structural biomaterials, such as nacre and bone, have been studied primarily for their benefits to toughness properties. The structure-property connection we identify, however, falls in the entirely new category of buckling resistance. We use computational mechanics calculations and information about the spicules’ arrangement within the sponge to develop a structural mechanics model for the spicules. We use our structural mechanics model along with measurements of the spicules’ shape to estimate the load they can transmit before buckling. Compared to a cylinder with the same length and volume, we predict that the spicules’ shape enhances this critical load by up to 30%. We also find that the spicules’ shape is close to the shape of the column that is optimized to transmit the largest load before buckling. In man-made structures, many strategies are used to prevent buckling. We find, however, that the spicules use a completely new strategy. We hope our discussion will generate a greater appreciation for nature’s ability to produce beneficial designs.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

A new structure-property connection in the skeletal elements of the marine sponge Tethya aurantia that guards against buckling instability

Monn

Kesari

2017

Sci Rep

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“…It was reported that the moisture or hydration level may affect mechanical properties of the soft tissues and fibrous composites [25–27]. The low moisture content or dehydration makes the tissue stiffer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic properties of human round window membrane in auditory frequencies running head: Dynamic properties of round window membrane

Zhang¹,

Gan²

2013

Medical Engineering & Physics

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Round window is one of the two openings into cochlea from the middle ear. Mechanical properties of round window membrane (RWM) affect cochlear fluid motion and play an important role in transmission of sound into cochlea. However, no measurement of mechanical properties of RWM has been reported because of the complication of its location and small size. This paper reports the first investigation on dynamic properties of human RWM using acoustic stimulation and laser Doppler vibrometry measurement. The experiments on RWM specimens were subsequently simulated in finite element (FE) model and an inverse-problem solving method was used to determine the complex modulus in frequency-domain and the relaxation modulus in time-domain. The results show that the average storage modulus of human RWM changes from 2.32 to 3.83 MPa and the average loss modulus from 0.085 to 0.925 MPa over frequencies of 200 to 8000 Hz. The effects of specimen geometry and experimental condition on complex modulus measurements were discussed through FE modeling analysis. Dynamic properties of RWM reported in this paper provide important data for study of middle ear and cochlear mechanics.

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“…Like other natural sponges such as the sponge Euplectella aspergillum (Johnsona et al, 2010), the mechanical properties of luffa sponge are also influenced by the moisture. Thus the humidity during the test was monitored.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%