Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T15:12:06.274Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Structure and Mechanical Performance of Teleost Fish Scales

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2012

Deju Zhu ,
Lawrence Szewciw ,
Franck Vernerey  and
Francois Barthelat
Deju Zhu
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
Lawrence Szewciw
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
Franck Vernerey
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
Francois Barthelat
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
Get access

Abstract

In this work, we have studied the structure and mechanics of fish scales from striped bass (Morone saxatilis). This scale is about 200-300 μm thick and consists of a hard outer bony layer supported by a softer cross-ply of collagen fibrils. Puncture tests with a sharp needle indicated that a single fish scale provides a high resistance to penetration which is superior to polystyrene and polycarbonate, two engineering polymers that are typically used for light transparent packaging or protective equipment. Under puncture, the scale undergoes a sequence of two distinct failure events: First, the outer bony layer cracks following a well defined cross-like pattern which generates four “flaps” of bony material. The deflection of the flaps by the needle is resisted by the collagen layer, which in biaxial tension acts as a retaining membrane. Remarkably this second stage of the penetration process is highly stable, so that an additional 50% puncture force is required to eventually penetrate the collagen layer. The combination of a hard layer that can fail in a controlled fashion with a soft and extensible backing layer is the key to the resistance to penetration of individual scales.

Keywords

biomaterialmicrostructurecomposite
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1420: Symposium OO – Multiscale Mechanics of Hierarchical Materials , 2012 , mrsf11-1420-oo01-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

[1] Torres, F.G., Troncoso, O.P., Nakamatsu, J., Grande, C.J., Gomez, C.M., Mat Sci Eng C-Bio S, 28, 1276–1283(2008).Google Scholar
[2] Bruet, B.J.F., Song, J.H., Boyce, M.C., Ortiz, C., Nat Mater, 7, 748–756(2008).Google Scholar
[3] Ikoma, T., Kobayashi, H., Tanaka, J., Walsh, D., Mann, S., Int J Biol Macromol, 32, 199–204(2003).Google Scholar
[4] Kardong, K.V., Vertebrates: comparative anatomy, function, evolution, McGraw-Hill New York, 2008.Google Scholar
[5] Zylberberg, L., Geraudie, J., Meunier, F., Sire, J., Bone, 4, 171–224(1992).Google Scholar
[6] Bereiter-Hahn, J., Zylberberg, L., Comp Biochem Phys A, 105, 625–641(1993).Google Scholar
[7] Sudo, S., Tsuyuki, K., Ito, Y., Ikohagi, T., Jsme Int J C-Mech Sy, 45, 1100–1105(2002).Google Scholar
[8] Meyers, M.A., Lin, A.Y.M., Seki, Y., Chen, P.Y., Kad, B.K., Bodde, S., JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 58, 35–41(2006).Google Scholar
[9] Szewciw, L.J., de Kerckhove, D.G., Grime, G.W., Fudge, D.S., P Roy Soc B-Biol Sci, 277, 2597–2605(2010).Google Scholar
[10] Vernerey, F.J., Barthelat, F., Int J Solids Struct, 47, 2268–2275(2010).Google Scholar
[11] Hebrank, M.R., Hebrank, J.H., Biol Bull, 171, 236–247(1986).Google Scholar
[12] Sire, J.Y., J Fish Biol, 28, 713–724(1986).Google Scholar
[13] Jawad, L.A., Journal of Natural History, 39, 2643–2660(2005).Google Scholar
[14] Ikoma, T., Kobayashi, H., Tanaka, J., Walsh, D., Mann, S., Journal of structural biology, 142, 327–333(2003).Google Scholar
[15] Meunier, F.J., American Zoologist, 24, 953(1984).Google Scholar
[16] Bigi, A., Burghammer, M., Falconi, R., Koch, M.H.J., Panzavolta, S., Riekel, C., Journal of structural biology, 136, 137–143(2001).Google Scholar
[17] Ostrander, G.K., The laboratory fish, Academic Press, Oxford, 2000.Google Scholar
[18] Bemis, W.E., Giuliano, A., McGuire, B., Zoology, 108, 317–327(2005).Google Scholar
[19] Zhu, D., Ortega, C.F., Motamedi, R., Szewciw, L., Vernerey, F., Barthelat, F., Advanced Biomaterials, In press (doi: 10.1002/adem.201180057), (2011).Google Scholar