Journal
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
Volume 10, Issue 8, Pages 3599-3614Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.04.009
Keywords
Arapaima; Fish scales; Armor; Collagen; Delamination
Funding
- National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research, Ceramics Program [1006931]
- Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering of the US Department of Energy [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- Office of Science of the US Department of Energy
- ARO/ISN [W911NF-07-D-004]
- UC Research Laboratories Grant [09-LR-06-118456-MEYM]
- Division Of Materials Research
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1006931] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The scales of the arapaima (Arapaima gigas), one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, can serve as inspiration for the design of flexible dermal armor. Each scale is composed of two layers: a laminate composite of parallel collagen fibrils and a hard, highly mineralized surface layer. We review the structure of the arapaima scales and examine the functions of the different layers, focusing on the mechanical behavior, including tension and penetration of the scales, with and without the highly mineralized outer layer. We show that the fracture of the mineral and the stretching, rotation and delamination of collagen fibrils dissipate a significant amount of energy prior to catastrophic failure, providing high toughness and resistance to penetration by predator teeth. We show that the arapaima's scale has evolved to minimize damage from penetration by predator teeth through a Bouligand-like arrangement of successive layers, each consisting of parallel collagen fibrils with different orientations. This inhibits crack propagation and restricts damage to an area adjoining the penetration. The flexibility of the lamellae is instrumental to the redistribution of the compressive stresses in the underlying tissue, decreasing the severity of the concentrated load produced by the action of a tooth. The experimental results, combined with small-angle Xray scattering characterization and molecular dynamics simulations, provide a complete picture of the mechanisms of deformation, delamination and rotation of the lamellae during tensile extension of the scale. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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