TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-invasive determination of the complete elastic moduli of spider silks
AU - Koski, Kristie J.
AU - Akhenblit, Paul
AU - McKiernan, Keri
AU - Yarger, Jeffery
N1 - Funding Information:
J.L.Y. would like to acknowledge spider silk research support from the Department of Defense, AFOSR (FA9550-10-1-0275) and the US National Science Foundation (CHE-1011937).
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - Spider silks possess nature's most exceptional mechanical properties, with unrivalled extensibility and high tensile strength. Unfortunately, our understanding of silks is limited because the complete elastic response has never been measured - leaving a stark lack of essential fundamental information. Using non-invasive, non-destructive Brillouin light scattering, we obtain the entire stiffness tensors (revealing negative Poisson's ratios), refractive indices, and longitudinal and transverse sound velocities for major and minor ampullate spider silks: Argiope aurantia, Latrodectus hesperus, Nephila clavipes, Peucetia viridans. These results completely quantify the linear elastic response for all possible deformation modes, information unobtainable with traditional stress-strain tests. For completeness, we apply the principles of Brillouin imaging to spatially map the elastic stiffnesses on a spider web without deforming or disrupting the web in a non-invasive, non-contact measurement, finding variation among discrete fibres, junctions and glue spots. Finally, we provide the stiffness changes that occur with supercontraction.
AB - Spider silks possess nature's most exceptional mechanical properties, with unrivalled extensibility and high tensile strength. Unfortunately, our understanding of silks is limited because the complete elastic response has never been measured - leaving a stark lack of essential fundamental information. Using non-invasive, non-destructive Brillouin light scattering, we obtain the entire stiffness tensors (revealing negative Poisson's ratios), refractive indices, and longitudinal and transverse sound velocities for major and minor ampullate spider silks: Argiope aurantia, Latrodectus hesperus, Nephila clavipes, Peucetia viridans. These results completely quantify the linear elastic response for all possible deformation modes, information unobtainable with traditional stress-strain tests. For completeness, we apply the principles of Brillouin imaging to spatially map the elastic stiffnesses on a spider web without deforming or disrupting the web in a non-invasive, non-contact measurement, finding variation among discrete fibres, junctions and glue spots. Finally, we provide the stiffness changes that occur with supercontraction.
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U2 - 10.1038/nmat3549
DO - 10.1038/nmat3549
M3 - Article
C2 - 23353627
AN - SCOPUS:84875473953
SN - 1476-1122
VL - 12
SP - 262
EP - 267
JO - Nature materials
JF - Nature materials
IS - 3
ER -