| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2020 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Arapaima Fish Scale: One of the Toughest Flexible Biological Materials |
| Author(s) |
Wen Yang, Haocheng Quan, Marc A. Meyers, Robert O. Ritchie |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Wen Yang |
| Abstract Scope |
For fish scales to provide protection from predators without compromising mobility, they have to be lightweight, flexible and tough. The Arapaima fish scale is a superb example of these properties, which enables survival in piranha-infested seasonal lakes of the Amazon. The elasmoid scales comprise a laminate composite layer of parallel collagen fibrils arranged in a Bouligand-like pattern under a hard, highly-mineralized surface layer that prevents penetration damage. We measure here a J-based crack-growth fracture-toughness of the scale as high as ~200 kJ.m-2, representing an exceptional fracture resistance for a flexible biological material. This toughness is primarily the result of multiple deformation mechanisms acting in concert in the Bouligand-like structure of the scale, involving collagen lamellae at varying orientations controlling crack advance through a sequence stretching, rotation, delamination and shear at the crack-tip before fracture. Indeed, the toughness values measured for Arapaima scales are among the highest of Nature’s flexible materials. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Supplemental Proceedings volume |