Mechanical properties of a crustacean exoskeleton

Joffe, I.; Hepburn, H. R.; Nelson, K. J.; Green, N.

doi:10.1016/0300-9629(75)90312-6

Cited by 38 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The mechanical properties of crustacean exoskeletons (mud crab, Scylla serrata and the prawn, Penaeus mondon) were first investigated by Hepburn and Joffe [231,232], followed by Raabe and coworkers (American lobster, Homarus americanus) [233][234][235][236][237][238][239] and Chen et al [230] (sheep crab, Loxorhynchun grandis and Dungeness crab, Cancer magister). The tensile stress-strain curves for various exoskeletons are shown in Fig.…”

Section: Arthropod Exoskeletonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties

Meyers

Chen

Lin

et al. 2008

Progress in Materials Science

2,162

1,129

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Most natural (or biological) materials are complex composites whose mechanical properties are often outstanding, considering the weak constituents from which they are assembled. These complex structures, which have risen from hundreds of million years of evolution, are inspiring Materials Scientists in the design of novel materials.Their defining characteristics, hierarchy, multifunctionality, and self-healing capability, are illustrated. Self-organization is also a fundamental feature of many biological materials and the manner by which the structures are assembled from the molecular level up. The basic building blocks are described, starting with the 20 amino acids and proceeding to polypeptides, polysaccharides, and polypeptides-saccharides. These, on their turn, compose the basic proteins, which are the primary constituents of 'soft tissues' and are also present in most biominerals. There are over 1000 proteins, and we describe only the principal ones, with emphasis on collagen, chitin, keratin, and elastin. The 'hard' phases are primarily strengthened by minerals, which nucleate and grow in a biomediated environment that determines the size, shape and distribution of individual crystals. The most important mineral phases are discussed: hydroxyapatite, silica, and aragonite.Using the classification of Wegst and Ashby, the principal mechanical characteristics and structures of biological ceramics, polymer composites, elastomers, and cellular materials are presented. Selected systems in each class are described with emphasis on the relationship between their structure and mechanical response. A fifth class is added to this: functional biological materials, which have a structure developed for a specific function: adhesion, optical properties, etc.An outgrowth of this effort is the search for bioinspired materials and structures. Traditional approaches focus on design methodologies of biological materials using conventional synthetic 0079-6425/$ -see front matter Ó

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Section: Arthropod Exoskeletonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When exoskeleton specimens are stretched, brittle failure of the mineral phase occurs at a low strain, leaving the chitin and protein phases to bear the load. Table 15 shows the mechanical properties of crustacean exoskeletons [230][231][232]. The presence of water plays an important role in mechanical properties as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Arthropod Exoskeletonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties

Meyers

Chen

Lin

et al. 2008

Progress in Materials Science

2,162

1,129

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“…Despite the cuticle being brittle and prone to delamination [133,143,144], the Bouligand structure of the procuticle layers affords some toughness by crack deflection and bridging, which force cracks to propagate in a tortuous, stepwise fashion [142]. The ductile pore canal tubules are also thought to enhance toughness, as necking is observed during tensile testing normal to the cuticle surface [133].…”

Section: Crustacean Exoskeletonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and mechanical properties of selected protective systems in marine organisms

Naleway

Taylor

Porter

et al. 2016

Materials Science and Engineering: C

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“…Samples were kept for no longer than 3·weeks before testing. Prior to and during all tests, specimens were kept moistened with seawater since hydration state affects the mechanical properties (Hepburn et al, 1975;Joffe et al, 1975b).…”

Section: Cuticle Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the cuticle transitions from rigid to soft and flexible during molting, it must also change from primarily resisting compressive, torsional and bending forces to primarily resisting tensile forces. Though the mechanical properties of some crustacean cuticles have been measured previously (Hepburn et al, 1975;Joffe et al, 1975a;Joffe et al, 1975b;Hepburn and Chandler, 1976;Currey et al, 1982;Dendinger and Alterman, 1983;Palmer et al, 1999;Dutil et al, 2000), few studies have measured the mechanical properties throughout the molt cycle (Dendinger and Alterman, 1983;Dutil et al, 2000). Both of these studies found significant changes in tensile strength and elastic modulus of the cuticle immediately following molting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical properties of the rigid and hydrostatic skeletons of molting blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

Taylor

Hebrank²,

Kier

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Molting in crustaceans involves significant changes in the structure and function of the exoskeleton as the old cuticle is shed and a new one is secreted. The flimsy new cuticle takes several days to harden and during this time crabs rely on a hydrostatic skeletal support system for support and movement. This change from a rigid to a hydrostatic skeletal support mechanism implies correlated changes in the function, and thus mechanical properties, of the cuticle. In particular, it must change from primarily resisting compression, bending and torsional forces to resisting tension. This study was designed to explore the changes in the mechanical properties of the crustacean cuticle as the animals switch between two distinct skeletal support mechanisms. Samples of cuticle were removed from blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, at 1 h (soft-shell stage), 12 h (paper-shell stage), and 7 days(hard-shell stage) following molting. We measured and compared the flexural stiffness, Young's modulus of elasticity (in tension), and tensile strength for each postmolt stage. We found that the hard-shell cuticle has a flexural stiffness fully four orders of magnitude greater than the soft-shell and paper-shell cuticle. Although the soft-shell cuticle has a Young's modulus significantly lower than that of the paper-shell and hard-shell cuticle, it has the same tensile strength. Thus, the soft-shell and paper-shell cuticles are unable to resist the significant bending forces associated with a rigid skeletal support system, but can resist the tensile forces that characterize hydrostatic support systems. The mechanical properties of the cuticle thus change dramatically during molting in association with the change in function of the cuticle. These results emphasize the significant role that mechanics plays in the evolution of the molting process in arthropods, and possibly other ecdysozoans.

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Mechanical properties of a crustacean exoskeleton

Cited by 38 publications

References 9 publications

Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties

Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties

Structure and mechanical properties of selected protective systems in marine organisms

Mechanical properties of the rigid and hydrostatic skeletons of molting blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

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