Researchers at Purdue University and the University of California, Irvine studied the aptly named Diabolic Ironclad Beetle – Floyd’s Diabolicus – to understand the secret behind its power.
He told CNN, “If you take a beetle and you can break it with your finger, you can probably kill it.”
But not the diabolical ironclad beetle. “This beetle is so tough that the force or force you can do with your hands is not enough – it’s like a piece of rock,” said Professor Pablo D. of Civil. The engineering and study writer at Pardu, told CNN. “The car’s tires aren’t enough to make it fall.”
Experts wanted to understand, in the hope of rebuilding such strength in building materials.
Using advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and in situ mechanical testing, the researchers identified architectural structures within the animal’s exoskeleton.
Scientists have discovered that the extreme hardness of diabetic ironclad beetles lies in its armor. This insect has two armor-like “electrons” – Used in flying beetles to deploy the wing – which is found on a line, called a seam, running the length of its belly.
Millions of years ago, most beetles flew away, Zavattier explained. “This particular beetle, as part of the evolutionary process, doesn’t fly much,” he said.
Although the diabolical ironclad beetle does not use its elliptical for its flight, the elliptical and connective suture instead help to distribute the force applied evenly throughout the organism’s body.
Zavatteri explained that the seven jigs p act like a puzzle, connecting various x os skeletal blades in the animal’s abdomen, which it uses to prevent itself from being pulled out.
If the seam is broken, another protective mechanism also allows the blade to deform slowly. It prevents the sudden release of energy rays, which would otherwise pull the beetle’s throat.
Using steel plates, the team of researchers found that the animal could carry an applied force of about 39,000 times its body weight – 150 Newtons, before its exoskeleton began to fracture.
If the car’s tires drive on the dirt surface, the force of 100 Newtons will apply, scientists said.
The team hopes that in better understanding how beetles cope with such a force, they can develop more difficult materials.
A serious problem in engineering is connecting materials of different compositions, for example, connecting aluminum and steel in areas such as aerospace, Zavattre told CNN.
For example, when building an aircraft turbine, metals are often attached to a composite material with mechanical fasteners, which can add weight, introduce stress and eventually lead to features and corrosion in the structure.
“We have the materials. One of the points of engineering is how to connect them,” Zavatteri said.
“We can use these sutures – they are showing you the way the beetle does – to improve the hardness of this.”
That said, this is a good example of how nature uses this connection. “Every time we look at nature, we learn something new.
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