Tensegrity Modelling and the High Toughness of Spider Dragline Silk.

ABSTRACT: This work establishes a tensegrity model of spider dragline silk. Tensegrity systems are ubiquitous in nature, being able to capture the mechanics of biological shapes through simple and effective modes of deformation via extension and contraction. Guided by quantitative microstructural characterization via air plasma etching and low voltage scanning electron microscopy, we report that this model is able to capture experimentally observed phenomena such as the Poisson effect, tensile stress-strain response, and fibre toughness. This is achieved by accounting for spider silks' hierarchical organization into microfibrils with radially variable properties. Each fibril is described as a chain of polypeptide tensegrity units formed by crystalline granules operating under compression, which are

SUBMITTER: Fraternali F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7466511 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature