A STUDY OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF SPIDER SILKS

Abstract

A preliminary physical and chemical examination of a selected group of spider silks was made. The program's ultimate goal was the synthesis of 'super tenacity' protein fibers, and the work reported here was designed to: confirm the existence of very strong, natural protein fibers, specifically, spider silks; determine some of the physical properties of such fibers; and obtain information on the chemical make-up of strong protein fibers and compare them with weaker protein fibers. During this study, collection techniques were streamlined and large quantities of spider silk were obtained. It was shown that a variety of these spider silks have average rupture tenacities exceeding 10 gms per denier and that a few show tenacities exceeding 15 gms per denier. These strengths class these fibers among the strongest organic fiber known. Equally remarkable, however, are the elongations before rupture - amounting to 15 percent or more. Fractionation studies on spider silk indicate that it is almost completely of the fibrous form with little or no soluble (globular) components. Amino acid assays show that the silk contains primarily the simpler amino acids and has a possible relation to a collagen structure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1968
Accession Number
AD0684333

Entities

People

  • J. C. Zemlin

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amines
  • Amino Acids
  • Crystal Structure
  • Diffraction
  • Hydroxides
  • Infrared Spectra
  • Lepidoptera
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Neutral Amino Acids
  • Physical Properties
  • Spiders
  • Tensile Modulus
  • Tensile Properties
  • Tensile Strength
  • Tensile Testing

Readers

  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Systems Analysis and Design