The structural efficiency of the sea sponge Euplectella aspergillum skeleton: bio-inspiration for 3D printed architectures (original) (raw)

Additive Manufacturing as a Method to Design and Optimize Bioinspired Structures

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 2018

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a current technology undergoing rapid development that is utilized in a wide variety of applications. In the field of biological and bioinspired materials, additive manufacturing is being used to generate intricate prototypes to expand our understanding of the fundamental structure-property relationships that govern nature's spectacular mechanical performance. Herein, recent advances in the use of AM for improving the understanding of the structure-property relationship in biological materials and for the production of bioinspired materials are reviewed. There are four essential components to this work: a) extracting defining characteristics of biological designs, b) designing 3D-printed prototypes, c) performing mechanical testing on 3D-printed prototypes to understand fundamental mechanisms at hand, and d) optimizing design for tailorable performance. It is intended to highlight how the various types of additive manufacturing methods are utilized...

Hierarchical assembly of the siliceous skeletal lattice of the hexactinellid sponge Euplectella aspergillum

Journal of Structural Biology, 2007

Despite its inherent mechanical fragility, silica is widely used as a skeletal material in a great diversity of organisms ranging from diatoms and radiolaria to sponges and higher plants. In addition to their micro-and nanoscale structural regularity, many of these hard tissues form complex hierarchically ordered composites. One such example is found in the siliceous skeletal system of the Western Pacific hexactinellid sponge, Euplectella aspergillum. In this species, the skeleton comprises an elaborate cylindrical lattice-like structure with at least six hierarchical levels spanning the length scale from nanometers to centimeters. The basic building blocks are laminated skeletal elements (spicules) that consist of a central proteinaceous axial filament surrounded by alternating concentric domains of consolidated silica nanoparticles and organic interlayers. Two intersecting grids of non-planar cruciform spicules define a locally quadrate, globally cylindrical skeletal lattice that provides the framework onto which other skeletal constituents are deposited. The grids are supported by bundles of spicules that form vertical, horizontal and diagonally ordered struts. The overall cylindrical lattice is capped at its upper end by a terminal sieve plate and rooted into the sea floor at its base by a flexible cluster of barbed fibrillar anchor spicules. External diagonally oriented spiral ridges that extend perpendicular to the surface further strengthen the lattice. A secondarily deposited laminated silica matrix that cements the structure together additionally reinforces the resulting skeletal mass. The mechanical consequences of each of these various levels of structural complexity are discussed.

Design and modelling of bioinspired 3D printed structures

Proceedings of the YIC 2021 - VI ECCOMAS Young Investigators Conference

3D printed metamaterials are a human-designed class of material capable of providing uncommon properties unseen in nature. However the freedom power of design provided by additive manufacturing in metamaterials is useless if reliable and efficient modelling design tools are not available. The objective of this work is to evaluate, validate and study the different options for finite element simulation of bio-inspired metamaterials to provide the best solutions in terms of material properties accuracy and computational efficiency. Based on this study we have developed a new hybrid material agnostic modelling method to compute the mechanical response of beam based bioinspired metamaterials with similar precision of 3D explicit meshed models. Different variables in the latticed models were investigated, these included different element sizes and element types (volumetric and beam elements). The effects of these variables on the elastic modulus and yield strength of a lattice structure w...

Uncovering Nature's Design Strategies through Parametric Modeling, Multi‐Material 3D Printing, and Mechanical Testing

Advanced Engineering Materials, 2017

Nature produces a multitude of composite materials with intricate architectures that in many instances far exceed the performance of their modern engineering analogs. Despite significant investigations into structure‐function relationships of complex biological materials, there is typically a lack of critical information regarding the specific functional roles of many of their components. To help resolve this issue, the authors present here a framework for investigating biological design principles that combines parametric modeling, multi‐material 3D printing, and direct mechanical testing to efficiently examine very large parameter spaces of biological design. Using the brick and mortar‐like architecture of mollusk nacre as a model system, the authors show that this approach can be used to effectively examine the structural complexity of biological materials and harvest design principles not previously accessible.

Morphogenesis and mechanostabilization of complex natural and 3D printed shapes

Science Advances, 2015

The natural selection and the evolutionary optimization of complex shapes in nature are closely related to their functions. Mechanostabilization of shape of biological structure via morphogenesis has several beautiful examples. With the help of simple mechanics-based modeling and experiments, we show an important causality between natural shape selection as evolutionary outcome and the mechanostabilization of seashells. The effect of biological growth on the mechanostabilization process is identified with examples of two natural shapes of seashells, one having a diametrically converging localization of stresses and the other having a helicoidally concentric localization of stresses. We demonstrate how the evolved shape enables predictable protection of soft body parts of the species. The effect of bioavailability of natural material is found to be a secondary factor compared to shape selectivity, where material microstructure only acts as a constraint to evolutionary optimization. T...

Parametric Design and Mechanical Characterization of 3D-Printed PLA Composite Biomimetic Voronoi Lattices Inspired by the Stereom of Sea Urchins

Journal of Composites Science

The present work is focused on the analysis of the microstructure of the exoskeleton of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the extraction of design concepts by implementing geometrically described 3D Voronoi diagrams. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of dried sea urchin shells revealed a foam-like microstructure, also known as the stereom. Subsequently, parametric, digital models were created with the aid of the computer-aided design (CAD) software Rhinoceros 3D (v. Rhino 7, 7.1.20343.09491) combined with the visual programming environment Grasshopper. Variables such as node count, rod thickness and mesh smoothness of the biologically-inspired Voronoi lattice were adapted for 3D printing cubic specimens using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) method. The filaments used in the process were a commercial polylactic acid (PLA), a compound of polylactic acid/polyhydroxyalkanoate (PLA/PHA) and a wood fiber polylactic acid/polyhydroxyalkanoate (PLA/PHA) composite. Nanoi...

Fabrication and deformation of three-dimensional

Creating lightweight, mechanically robust materials has long been an engineering pursuit. Many siliceous skeleton speciessuch as diatoms, sea sponges and radiolarians-have remarkably high strengths when compared with man-made materials of the same composition, yet are able to remain lightweight and porous 1-7 . It has been suggested that these properties arise from the hierarchical arrangement of different structural elements at their relevant length scales 8,9 . Here, we report the fabrication of hollow ceramic scaffolds that mimic the length scales and hierarchy of biological materials. The constituent solids attain tensile strengths of 1.75 GPa without failure even after multiple deformation cycles, as revealed by in situ nanomechanical experiments and finite-element analysis. We discuss the high strength and lack of failure in terms of stress concentrators at surface imperfections and of local stresses within the microstructural landscape. Our findings suggest that the hierarchical design principles offered by hard biological organisms can be applied to create damage-tolerant lightweight engineering materials.

Assessing the Capabilities of Additive Manufacturing Technologies for Coral Studies, Education, and Monitoring

Frontiers in Marine Science

Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing is becoming an easily accessible method to produce 3D objects ranging from medical devices to jet plane parts. However, this implies the creation of an accurate 3D digital model by Computer Assisted Design (CAD) or direct acquisition of a 3D model as well as a correct understanding of the various 3D printing technologies available with their pros and cons. Here, we present a method for editing and printing of 3D models of coral colonies for the generation of accurate and enhanced 3D models suitable for research and education. This is a follow-up from other papers where 3D scanning was performed on fresh coral samples from field trips and coral skeletons from museum collections using different imaging techniques (multi-image photogrammetry and Micro CT scanning). 3D scans of colonies and samples of Turbinaria sp., Leptoseris incrustans, Oulophyllia crispa, Echinopora sp., Siderastrea savignyana, and Platygira daedalea were used to produce multi-material and multi-scale 3D prints. Moreover, we studied the best practices for the 3D printing processes, and potential technologies most suitable for specific attributes in this practice. Additionally, we show the innovative application of 3D printed inert reactive corals able to indicate environmental changes, along with insights into the potential uses for the proposed method and related systems in biological fields and sharing with an online community.

Three-Dimensional Printing of Complex Structures: Man Made or toward Nature?

Current three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques enable the fabrication of complex multifunctional structures that are unimaginable in conventional manufacturing. In this Perspective, we outline recent progress in materials and manufacturing and propose challenges and opportunities for the future development of 3D printing of functional materials. The success of future 3D printing relies not only on multifunctional materials and printing techniques but also on smart design of complex systems. Engineers need to understand advanced materials, additive manufacturing, and, more importantly, creative design. Fortunately, we can learn from many structures that exist in nature and adapt them to engineered structures.

Bioinformed Performative Composite Structures: From biological micro-structures to material composites and articulated assemblies

2013

This ongoing investigation aims to learn from nature novel material organizations and structural systems in order to develop innovative architectural system. We developed a multidisciplinary approach, using scientific analysis and design research and prototyping. We focus on the study of a “living fossil” fish, whose armor system is so efficient it has remained almost unchanged for millions of years. We investigate its morphological characteristics, its structural properties, the assembly mechanisms and the underlying material properties in order to derive new principles to design new enhanced structural systems. We use micro computerized tomography and scanning electron microscopy to observe microstructures, parametric design to reconstruct the data into digital models and then several 3D printing technologies to prototype systems with high flexibility and adaptive capabilities, proposing new gradual material interfaces and transitions to embed performative capabilities and multifu...