| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2024 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Time-resolved Interface Mismatch Between Cells in the Apis Mellifera Honeycomb Characterized by X-ray Microscopy |
| Author(s) |
Rahul Franklin, Eshan Ganju, Brock A. Harpur, Nikhilesh Chawla |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Rahul Franklin |
| Abstract Scope |
The natural honeycomb made from beeswax is an engineering marvel. The hexagonal architecture of its cells is a result of a need to maximize storage space for honey and a need to use precious wax efficiently. Characterization of this structure has been based on two-dimensional, often destructive, surface observations. X-ray microscopy is a powerful tool to characterize structures in three-dimensions non-destructively. When a time element is added, one can obtain valuable data in four dimensions (4D).
In this study, through 4D X-ray microscopy, we shed light on how bees accommodate lattice distortions when two combs merge. We show that the copings on the spine of the comb initially initiate the merger. We further discuss the deviation from the perfect hexagonal architecture in cells at the merge region. Cells in the merged region were characterized using a distortion parameter to quantitatively assess in 4D how distortions at the merger evolved. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Other, Other |