| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Sclerites from the Gorgonian Octocoral, Lophogorgia Chilensis: A Biological Mechanotunable System Based on Granular Jamming |
| Author(s) |
Chenhao Hu, Ravi Tutika, Zhifei Deng, Zian Jia, Liuni Chen, Hongshun Chen, Daniel Baum, Xianghui Xiao, Michael D. Bartlett, James C. Weaver, Ling Li |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Chenhao Hu |
| Abstract Scope |
The colonial gorgonian octocorals are known for their highly flexible, yet mechanically tunable fan-and tree-like branching body plans. In these species, skeletal support is provided by a highly cross-linked proteinaceous axial skeleton, which is surrounded by a soft tissue matrix containing thousands of embedded mm-sized calcareous sclerites. Sensitive to external stimuli, gorgonians can rapidly expel water from their soft tissues to achieve a denser packing of their constituent sclerites, which can, in turn, increase colony stiffness. To investigate how the hierarchically constructed and jammable sclerites can achieve high-density packing and resist deformation at the assembly level, we characterized their morphology and organization using micro-computed tomography and conducted mechanical tests and discrete element simulations to evaluate the influence of particle geometry and surface asperities on their jamming performance. The results obtained from these studies are, in turn, providing new biologically inspired insights for the design of mechanically tunable materials and systems. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |