Giesa, Tristan and Pugno, Nicola M. and Buehler, Markus J. (2012) Natural stiffening increases flaw tolerance of biological fibers. In «Pysical Review E», vol. 86, Ridge, NY, USA : American Physical Society, 041902-(7 pp.).
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Abstract
Many fibers in biomaterials such as tendon, elastin, or silk feature a nonlinear stiffening behavior of the stress-strain relationship, where the rigidity of the material increases severely as the material is being stretched. Here we show that such nonlinear stiffening is beneficial for a fiber's ability to withstand cracks, leading to a flaw tolerant state in which stress concentrations around cracks are diminished. Our findings, established by molecular mechanics and the derivation of a theoretical scaling law, explain experimentally observed fiber sizes in a range of biomaterials and point to the importance of nonlinear stiffening to enhance their fracture properties. Our study suggests that nonlinear stiffening provides a mechanism by which nanoscale mechanical properties can be scaled up, providing a means towards bioinspired fibrous material and structural design.
Item Type: | Article in journal |
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FP7 Grant Agreement Number: | European Research Council/ERC Starting grant/EU/FP7/279985 |
Department or Research center: | Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering |
Subjects: | T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA164 Bioengineering T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA630 Structural Engineering |
Repository staff approval on: | 12 Nov 2013 14:43 |
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