UNH Researchers Find Seed Coats Could Lead to Tough, Yet Flexible Materials
August 8, 2018 | University of New HampshireEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Inspired by elements found in nature, researchers at the University of New Hampshire say the puzzle-like wavy structure of the delicate seed coat, found in plants like succulents and some grasses, could hold the secret to creating new smart materials strong enough to be used in items like body armor, screens, and airplane panels.
“The seed coat’s major function is to protect the seed but it also needs to become soft to allow the seed to germinate, so the mechanical property changes,” said Yaning Li, associate professor of mechanical engineering. “By learning from nature it may be possible to tailor the geometry and create the architecture for a smart material that can be programmed to amplify the strength and toughness but also be flexible and have many different applications.”
The building blocks of the seed coat are star-shaped epidermal cells which move by zigzag intercellular joints to form a compact, tiled exterior that protects the seed inside from mechanical damage and other environmental stresses, such as drought, freezing, and bacterial infection. To better understand the relationship between the structural attributes and functions of the seed coat’s unique microstructure, prototypes were designed and fabricated using multi-material 3D printing, and mechanical experiments and finite element simulations were performed on the models.
“Imagine a window, or the exterior of an airplane, that is really strong but not brittle,” said Li. “That same concept could create smart material that could be adapted to behave differently in different situations whether it’s a more flexible body armor that is still protective or another such materials.”
The results, published in the journal Advanced Materials, show that the waviness of the mosaic-like tiled structures of the seed coat, called sutural tessellations, plays a key role in determining the mechanical response. Generally, the wavier it is, the more an applied loads can effectively transit from the soft wavy interface to the hard phase, and therefore both overall strength and toughness can simultaneously be increased.
Researchers say that the design principles described show a promising approach for increasing the mechanical performance of tiled composites of man-made materials. Since the overall mechanical properties of the prototypes could be tuned over a very large range by simply varying the waviness of the mosaic-like structures, they believe it can provide a roadmap for the development of new functionally graded composites that could be used in protection, as well as energy absorption and dissipation. There is a pending patent which has been filed by UNHInnovation, which advocates for, manages, and promotes UNH’s intellectual property.
Suggested Items
Indium Corporation, Industry Partners to Showcase Products “Live@APEX”
03/26/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation®, in cooperation with its industry partners, will feature its proven solder solutions live on the show floor throughout IPC APEX Expo from Apr. 9‒11 in Anaheim, Calif., U.S.
Dymax Will Exhibit Light-Cure Solutions for Today’s Electronics at IPC APEX 2024
03/26/2024 | DymaxDymax, a leading manufacturer of rapid and light-curing materials and equipment, will exhibit at the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in Anaheim, CA, April 9-11.
Ventec to Launch New Bondply Dielectrics and Value-Added Services at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/26/2024 | Ventec International GroupVentec International Group is to reveal new products for advanced signal integrity and thermal performance, and introduce services, during IPC APEX EXPO 2024, April 9-11 on booth # 4309.
Electra Polymers Ltd Expands Manufacturing Capacity, Invests in New Facilities and Talent
03/26/2024 | Electra Polymers LtdElectra Polymers Ltd, a leading provider of coatings for the electronics industry, proudly announces a significant expansion of its manufacturing capacity for inkjet materials. The company is making substantial investments in new facilities, talent acquisition, and cutting-edge laboratory equipment to meet the increasing demand for high-performance functional inkjet materials in the market.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
03/22/2024 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007This week's news feed contains a bunch of big money items, as well as some interesting industrial and technology puzzles to be solved. There’s even some down-home people news from the Dallas SMTA conference held this week. Don’t overlook the latest issue of PCB007 Magazine, either. The topic is sustainability, which is becoming an ecosystem of its own.