Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers
Abstract Before humans and allegedly any animal group, spiders developed “functionally graded toothed blades” that cut one of the toughest biological materials: silk. Here, this work reveals the importance of micro‐structured serrations in spiders’ fangs that allow these animals to cut silk and arti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Advanced Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202406079 |
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| author | Gabriele Greco Diego Misseroni Filippo Castellucci Nicolò G. Di Novo Nicola M. Pugno |
| author_facet | Gabriele Greco Diego Misseroni Filippo Castellucci Nicolò G. Di Novo Nicola M. Pugno |
| author_sort | Gabriele Greco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Before humans and allegedly any animal group, spiders developed “functionally graded toothed blades” that cut one of the toughest biological materials: silk. Here, this work reveals the importance of micro‐structured serrations in spiders’ fangs that allow these animals to cut silk and artificial high‐performance fibers, such as carbon or Kevlar. The importance of serrations revolves around the stress concentration at the interface between the fang and the fibers, resulting in a cutting efficiency superior to that of a razor blade. This efficiency is increased by the presence of pretension in the fibers and is high also for fibers with different diameters like silk, because of the serration grading that allows a smart positioning of the fiber in the optimal cutting condition. This work proposes that when the silk fiber is grasped by the fang, it slides along the serrated edge till it gets locked in the serration with a comparable size, where the load to cut is minimal. These results provide a new perspective on cutting mechanisms and set the roots for spider fang‐inspired cutting tools. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1c8402a4ce994357b3f926d2190c24b3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2198-3844 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-1c8402a4ce994357b3f926d2190c24b32024-11-27T11:21:53ZengWileyAdvanced Science2198-38442024-11-011144n/an/a10.1002/advs.202406079Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar FibersGabriele Greco0Diego Misseroni1Filippo Castellucci2Nicolò G. Di Novo3Nicola M. Pugno4Department of Animal Biosciences Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala 750 07 SwedenLaboratory for the Design of Reconfigurable Metamaterials & Structures Department of Civil Environmental and Mechanical Engineering University of Trento Via Mesiano, 77 Trento 38123 ItalyDepartment of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences—University of Bologna via Selmi 3 Bologna 40126 ItalyLaboratory for Bio‐Inspired, Bionic Nano Meta Materials & Mechanics Department of Civil Environmental and Mechanical Engineering University of Trento Via Mesiano, 77 Trento 38123 ItalyLaboratory for Bio‐Inspired, Bionic Nano Meta Materials & Mechanics Department of Civil Environmental and Mechanical Engineering University of Trento Via Mesiano, 77 Trento 38123 ItalyAbstract Before humans and allegedly any animal group, spiders developed “functionally graded toothed blades” that cut one of the toughest biological materials: silk. Here, this work reveals the importance of micro‐structured serrations in spiders’ fangs that allow these animals to cut silk and artificial high‐performance fibers, such as carbon or Kevlar. The importance of serrations revolves around the stress concentration at the interface between the fang and the fibers, resulting in a cutting efficiency superior to that of a razor blade. This efficiency is increased by the presence of pretension in the fibers and is high also for fibers with different diameters like silk, because of the serration grading that allows a smart positioning of the fiber in the optimal cutting condition. This work proposes that when the silk fiber is grasped by the fang, it slides along the serrated edge till it gets locked in the serration with a comparable size, where the load to cut is minimal. These results provide a new perspective on cutting mechanisms and set the roots for spider fang‐inspired cutting tools.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202406079cuttingengineeringfunctional structuresserrationspider silkstress concentration |
| spellingShingle | Gabriele Greco Diego Misseroni Filippo Castellucci Nicolò G. Di Novo Nicola M. Pugno Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers Advanced Science cutting engineering functional structures serration spider silk stress concentration |
| title | Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers |
| title_full | Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers |
| title_fullStr | Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers |
| title_short | Functionally‐Graded Serrated Fangs Allow Spiders to Mechanically Cut Silk, Carbon and Kevlar Fibers |
| title_sort | functionally graded serrated fangs allow spiders to mechanically cut silk carbon and kevlar fibers |
| topic | cutting engineering functional structures serration spider silk stress concentration |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202406079 |
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