Fracture Mechanics: Inspirations from Nature
Journal Title: Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale - Year 2014, Vol 8, Issue 30
Abstract
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.
Authors and Affiliations
David Taylor
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP147642
- DOI -
- Views 68
- Downloads 0
The numerical simulation of ceramic composites failure at axial compression
On the basis of the developed model of quasibrittle medium the brittle and quasibrittle failure of composite ceramic materials with zirconium dioxide matrix and various percentage of hardening particles of corundum...
Modelling the mechanical behaviour of metal powder during Die compaction process
In this work, powder compaction process was investigated by using a numerical material model, which involves Mohr-Coulomb theory and an elliptical surface plasticity model. An effective algorithm was developed an...
Synchrotron 3D characterization of arrested fatigue cracks initiated from small tilted notches in steel
High resolution synchrotron X-ray tomography has been used to obtain 3D images of arrested cracks initiated at small artificial defects located on the surface of cylindrical steel specimens subjected to mode I fa...
Crack paths and the linear elastic analysis of cracked bodies
The linear elastic analysis of cracked bodies is a Twentieth Century development, with the first papers appearing in 1907, but it was not until the introduction of the stress intensity factor concept in 1957 that&...
Characterization of mechanical damage in granite
This paper aims to illustrate the use of infrared thermography as a non-destructive and non-contact technique to observe the phenomenological manifestation of damage in granite under unconfined compression. It allo...