The role of material architecture to achieve functional hierarchy in the cuticle of the flower beetle, <i>Torynorrhina flammea</i>

ORAL

Abstract

Biological materials achieve outstanding multifunctionality through a hierarchical arrangement of material architecture at multiple length scales. To understand the multifunctionality of biological materials, “structure-properties” relationship instead of the conventional “structure-property” relationship should be considered, where “property-property” relationship must be discussed additionally. However, associating multiple individual functions and revealing the relative importance of each function are challenging, as different functions belong to different disciplines and the criteria of comparison have not yet been established. In this study, we address these challenges based on the cuticle of the flower beetle, Torynorrhina flammea. We combine multidisciplinary experimental, computational, and theoretical techniques to understand the “structure-optics-mechanics” relationship of the beetle’s cuticle. The relative importance of optical performance to the mechanical performance in the beetle’s cuticle is further demonstrated using concepts from biological evolution. Our results not only illustrate the mechanical and optical design principles of the beetle’s cuticle but also opens an avenue to understand the evolutionary driving force of multifunctional biological materials.

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Presenters

  • Zian Jia

    • Virginia Tech
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech

Authors

  • Zian Jia

    • Virginia Tech
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech

  • Matheus C Fernandes

    • John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University

  • Zhifei Deng

    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
    • Virginia Tech

  • Ting Yang

    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech

  • qiuting zhang

    • Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University
    • Yale University

  • Jie Yin

    • Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University

  • Jae-Hwang Lee

    • Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts
    • Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Lin Han

    • Delft University of Technology
    • Drexel University, School of biomedical Engineering
    • QuTech and Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology
    • QuTech, Delft University of Technology

  • James Weaver

    • John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
    • Harvard University

  • Katia Bertoldi

    • Harvard University
    • John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University

  • Joanna Aizenberg

    • Harvard University
    • John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University

  • Mathias Kolle

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Pete Vukusic

    • School of Physics, University of Exeter
    • University of Exeter

  • Ling Li

    • Virginia Tech
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech