Mesomechanics of a three-dimensional spider web

Su, Isabelle; Buehler, Markus J.

doi:10.1016/j.jmps.2020.104096

Cited by 16 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Because of redundancy in the structure and the nonlinear behavior of dragline silk, the spider web does not fail catastrophically at any stage of construction. A similar behavior can be found for the tangle regions of a C. citricola spider web, which is more than 10 times denser, under uniaxial stretching (32). In addition, web strength increases with web density, which increases as the construction progresses.…”

Section: B Asupporting

confidence: 73%

“…This allows the spider to sense prey entering the tangle web as it drops onto the sheet, allowing the spider to then attack (29). Similarly, the tangle region of the C. citricola web would help filter and slow down the prey entry into the tent region, where the spider waits (32). Here, we have shown that the web can efficiently decelerate prey projectiles.…”

Section: B Amentioning

confidence: 79%

“…The speed of 0.5 m/s was chosen from previous results from ref. 32; it is the threshold over which the fly will get caught in the tent region of a C. citricola spider web. For example, for one face of the spider web cube, the projectiles were thrown along the axis perpendicular to the face following a 2 cm-spaced grid.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increase of web strength and toughness has also been described for a C. citricola spider web in ref. 32. Web strength and toughness variations with web density are fitted using the following equations:…”

Section: B Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Web construction observations have already inspired new automation methods (25) and algorithms (31) for fiber network construction. Other work (32) has recently investigated the mechanical behavior of Cyrtophora citricola 3D spider webs under uniaxial stretching and projectile impact. The interplay between the nonlinear behavior of dragline silk and the complex redundant architecture of the webs leads to robust and resilient webs under uniaxial stretching.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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In situ three-dimensional spider web construction and mechanics

Narayanan

Logrono

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Spiders are nature’s engineers that build lightweight and high-performance web architectures often several times their size and with very few supports; however, little is known about web mechanics and geometries throughout construction, especially for three-dimensional (3D) spider webs. In this work, we investigate the structure and mechanics for a Tidarren sisyphoides spider web at varying stages of construction. This is accomplished by imaging, modeling, and simulations throughout the web-building process to capture changes in the natural web geometry and the mechanical properties. We show that the foundation of the web geometry, strength, and functionality is created during the first 2 d of construction, after which the spider reinforces the existing network with limited expansion of the structure within the frame. A better understanding of the biological and mechanical performance of the 3D spider web under construction could inspire sustainable robust and resilient fiber networks, complex materials, structures, scaffolding, and self-assembly strategies for hierarchical structures and inspire additive manufacturing methods such as 3D printing as well as inspire artistic and architectural and engineering applications.

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Section: B Asupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: B Amentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Amentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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In situ three-dimensional spider web construction and mechanics

Narayanan

Logrono

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

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Generative Modeling, Design, and Analysis of Spider Silk Protein Sequences for Enhanced Mechanical Properties

Lu,

Kaplan,

Buehler

2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Spider silks are remarkable materials characterized by superb mechanical properties such as strength, extensibility, and lightweightedness. Yet, to date, limited models are available to fully explore sequence‐property relationships for analysis and design. Here a custom generative large‐language model is proposed to enable the design of novel spider silk protein sequences to meet complex combinations of target mechanical properties. The model, pretrained on a large set of protein sequences, is fine‐tuned on ≈1,000 major ampullate spidroin (MaSp) sequences for which associated fiber‐level mechanical properties exist, to yield an end‐to‐end forward and inverse generative approach that is aplied in a multi‐agent strategy. Performance is assessed through: 1) a novelty analysis and protein type classification for generated spidroin sequences through Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) searches, 2) property evaluation and comparison with similar sequences, 3) comparison of resulting molecular structures, and 4) a detailed sequence motif analyses. This work generates silk sequences with property combinations that do not exist in nature and develops a deeper understanding of the mechanistic roles of sequence patterns in achieving overarching key mechanical properties (elastic modulus (E), strength, toughness, failure strain). The model provides an efficient approach to expand the silkome dataset, facilitating further sequence‐structure analyses of silks, and establishes a foundation for synthetic silk design and optimization.

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Principles of biological design as a model for biodesign and biofabrication in architecture

Andreen

Goidea

2022

Archit. Struct. Constr.

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Biomaterials represent a potential means for the construction industry to reduce its negative ecological impact. These materials require substantially different approaches from conventional construction materials to maximise their potential. In this paper we have outlined four principles of biological design that we argue are central for the successful implementation of a new construction paradigm through biodesign. These principles are: Diversity, complexity and specificity (of form), durability through resilience, and feedback and adaptation. Diversity of material is necessary to maintain the sustainability of biomaterials when scaled up to construction industry volumes. Complexity and specificity of form enable high performativity of the built environments when using low-impact materials. Durability through resilience allows designers to work with materials that would otherwise be considered too weak. Finally, feedback and adaptation are core principles of biological design that allow plants and animals to constantly evolve in response to changing conditions, across multiple time scales, and to manage design in complex systems. In conclusion we have argued that many of these principles are found in vernacular architectural traditions, but that emerging design and fabrication technologies can enable broader implementation that can combine the benefits of modern and vernacular buildings practice.

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Mesomechanics of a three-dimensional spider web

Cited by 16 publications

References 35 publications

In situ three-dimensional spider web construction and mechanics

In situ three-dimensional spider web construction and mechanics

Generative Modeling, Design, and Analysis of Spider Silk Protein Sequences for Enhanced Mechanical Properties

Principles of biological design as a model for biodesign and biofabrication in architecture

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