Fracture Mechanics: Inspirations from Nature
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.30.01Keywords:
Insect CuticleAbstract
In Nature there are many examples of materials performing structural functions. Nature requires materials which are stiff and strong to provide support against various forces, including self-weight, the dynamic forces involved in movement, and external loads such as wind or the actions of a predator. These materials and structures have evolved over millions of years; the science of Biomimetics seeks to understand Nature and, as a
result, to find inspiration for the creation of better engineering solutions.
There has been relatively little fundamental research work in this area from a fracture mechanics point of view.
Natural materials are quite brittle and, as a result, they have evolved several interesting strategies for preventing failure by crack propagation. Fatigue is also a major problem for many animals and plants. In this paper, several examples will be given of recent work in the Bioengineering Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin, investigating fracture and fatigue in such diverse materials as bamboo, the legs and wings of insects, and living cells.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright
Authors are allowed to retain both the copyright and the publishing rights of their articles without restrictions.
Open Access Statement
Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale (Fracture and Structural Integrity, F&SI) is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the DOAI definition of open access.
F&SI operates under the Creative Commons Licence Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0). This allows to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, to remix, transform and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, but giving appropriate credit and providing a link to the license and indicating if changes were made.