Skip navigation
SuUB logo
DSpace logo

  • Home
  • Institutions
    • University of Bremen
    • City University of Applied Sciences
    • Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences
  • Sign on to:
    • My Media
    • Receive email
      updates
    • Edit Account details

Citation link: https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/5676

Publisher DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.107052
 
copyright

An investigation of crack propagation in an insect wing using the theory of critical distances


Authors: Schmidt, Jonas 
O'Neill, Maeve 
Dirks, Jan-Henning  
Taylor, David 
Abstract: 
Materials often have toughening mechanisms at different length scales. An interesting example is the insect wing, which consists of a membrane and veins. Previously we showed that cracks tend to arrest at the veins, which confer an increased toughness compared to that of the membrane. The Theory of Critical Distances (TCD) is an approach used to predict crack propagation based on the concept of a material-dependant length scale. In the present work, we monitored cracks propagating through wing samples and used finite element analysis (FEA) to model the interaction between cracks and veins. We found that the TCD could accurately predict the passage of a crack through a vein based on an estimate of the average stress over a material-dependant distance ahead of the crack tip. A picture emerges of the wing as a material with toughening mechanisms on two length scales: membrane level (critical distance 0.17 mm) and vein level (critical distance 0.58 mm). This work provides insights into how natural materials achieve enhanced toughness and could have applications as a concept in engineering design.
Keywords: Toughness; Cracking; Insect; Wing; Critical distance
Issue Date: 2020
Publisher: Elsevier {BV}
Journal/Edited collection: Engineering Fracture Mechanics 
Start page: 1
End page: 9
Band: 232
Type: Artikel/Aufsatz
ISSN: 00137944
Institution: Hochschule Bremen 
Faculty: Hochschule Bremen - Fakultät 5: Natur und Technik 
Appears in Collections:Bibliographie HS Bremen

  

Page view(s)

18
checked on Jul 6, 2022

Google ScholarTM

Check


Items in Media are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Legal notice -Feedback -Data privacy
Media - Extension maintained and optimized by Logo 4SCIENCE