Mantis shrimp and hermit crab help to prepare high-strength and high-toughness bionic composite materials

Hefei Science and Technology Daily May 10 (Reporter Wu Changfeng) reporter learned from the China University of Science and Technology, the school Zhong Keyuan Mechanical Behavior Laboratory design team, Professor Luo day governance with integrity and Wuhan University associate professor Wang, Professor Zhang Zuoqi, having studied Defensive function of the mantis shrimp tail spines (spears) and hermit crab left claws (shields).

There are many attack and defense "tools" designed with gradient structures in the biological world.

The researchers used 3D printing technology to prepare a number of bionic microstructures of tail spines, and verified the design concept that the combination of the Bouligand structure and the radial parallel layered structure can greatly improve the overall toughness and strength of the structure through mechanical tests.

The exoskeleton of the hermit crab's left claw is divided into five layers.

The local curvature of the left chelate dome-like morphology and the sandwich-like interlayer mechanical properties distribution provide optimized mechanical properties for resisting external attacks, greatly reducing structural deformation and interface stress, and demonstrating effective protection Features.