The mechanical behaviour of some molluscan hard tissues

Currey, J. D.; Taylor, J. D.

Affiliations

¹Department of Biology, University of York, York

²Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History) London

Abstract

Pieces of shell from 19 species of molluscs exhibiting various microstructures were tested for tensile strength, modulus of elasticity in bending and modulus of rupture. In tensile strength most shells with cross-foliated, foliated, homogeneous and crossed-lamellar structures did not exceed 60 MNm² but prismatic and nacreous structures often exceeded this value. Nacreous structure was generally superior to all others in modulus of rupture tests; that of Turbo being about equal to bone. Values of modulus of elasticity were more uniform between structures. There is a general relation between mechanical properties, microstructure and the life style of each animal. Nacreous structure, which is very strong but not widely used, apparently evolved earlier than the less strong but widely used crossed-lamellar structure.

Links

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1974.tb04122.x

WoS: A1974T674600006

History

Accepted: 1974-02-12

Cited Works (1)

Year	Entry
1972	Burstein AH, Currey JD, Frankel VH, Reilly DT. The ultimate properties of bone tissue: the effects of yielding. J Biomech. January 1972;5(1):35-44.

Cited By (13)

Year	Entry
1977	Currey JD. Mechanical properties of mother of pearl in tension. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1977;196(1125):443-463.
1976	Wainwright SA, Biggs WD, Currey JD, Gosline JM. Mechanical Design in Organisms. London, UK: Edward Arnold; 1976.
2010	Dubey DK, Tomar V. Role of molecular level interfacial forces in hard biomaterial mechanics: a review. Ann Biomed Eng. June 2010;38(6):2040-2055.
2010	Barthelat F. Nacre from mollusk shells: a model for high-performance structural materials. Bioinspir Biomim. 2010;5(3):035001.
2007	Barthelat F, Espinosa HD. An experimental investigation of deformation and fracture of nacre–mother of pearl. Exp Mech. 2007;47(3):311-324.
1975	Currey JD. A comparison of the strength of echinoderm spines and mollusc shells. J Mar Biol Assoc UK. May 1975;55(2):419-424.
2005	Bruet BJF, Qi H., Boyce MC, Panas R, Tai K, Frick L, Ortiz C. Nanoscale morphology and indentation of individual nacre tablets from the gastropod mollusc Trochus niloticus. J Mater Res. September 2005;20(9):2400-2419.
2007	Barthelat F, Tang H, Zavattieri PD, Li C-M, Espinosa HD. On the mechanics of mother-of-pearl: a key feature in the material hierarchical structure. J Mech Phys Solids. February 2007;55(2):306-337.
2003	Gao H, Ji B, Jäger IL, Arzt E, Fratzl P. Materials become insensitive to flaws at nanoscale: lessons from nature. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. May 13, 2003;100(10):5597-5600.
2009	Espinosa HD, Rim JE, Barthelat F, Buehler MJ. Merger of structure and material in nacre and bone: perspectives on de novo biomimetic materials. Prog Mater Sci. November 2009;54(8):1059-1100.
2019	Curto M. Multi-Material 3D Printing of Bioinspired Mechanical Structures [PhD thesis]. Portsmouth, England: University of Portsmouth; March 2019.
2011	Kwan M. Bioprocessing of Nacreous Coatings on Orthopedic Implant Materials [Master's thesis]. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia; December 2011.
2008	Lin AY-M. Structural and Functional Biological Materials: Abalone Nacre, Sharp Materials, and Abalone Foot Adhesion [PhD thesis]. San Siego, CA: University of California San Diego; 2008.