In situ three-dimensional spider web construction and mechanics
Abstract
Spiders, silks, and webs have survived and prospered for millions of years, making them an evolutionary success. Learning how spiders used their silks and webs to adapt to environmental pressures have fascinated many fields of research such as biomedicine, biology, and engineering. Because of silk’s nanoscale size and the complex web architecture, little is known about the architecture and mechanics of three-dimensional (3D) spider webs during construction. This work comprehensively investigates the structure, mechanics, and functionality of a 3D spider web under construction, using consistent imaging and computational simulations methods. This work could inspire efficient spider-inspired fabrication sequences or fiber geometries in engineered materials, as demonstrated here for 3D-printed prototype materials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 09, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2101296118
Entities
People
- Ally Bisshop
- Isabelle Su
- Kai Guo
- Marcos A. Logrono
- Markus J. Buehler
- Neosha Narayanan
- Roland Mühlethaler
- Tomás Saraceno
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Institutes of Health
- Office of Naval Research