The shells of marine organisms take a beating from impacts due to storms and tides, rocky shores, and sharp-toothed predators. But as recent research has demonstrated, one type of shell stands out above all the others in its toughness: the conch.
Now, researchers at MIT have explored the secrets behind these shells’ extraordinary impact resilience. And they’ve shown that this superior strength could be reproduced in engineered materials, potentially to provide the best-ever protective headgear and body armor.
The shells of marine organisms take a beating from impacts due to storms and tides, rocky shores, and sharp-toothed predators. But as recent research has demonstrated, one type of shell stands out above all the others in its toughness: the conch.
Now, researchers at MIT have explored the secrets behind these shells’ extraordinary impact resilience. And they’ve shown that this superior strength could be reproduced in engineered materials, potentially to provide the best-ever protective headgear and body armor.
The findings are reported in the journal Advanced Materials, in a paper by MIT graduate student Grace Gu, postdoc Mahdi Takaffoli, and McAfee Professor of Engineering Markus Buehler.
Conch shells “have this really unique architecture,” Gu explains. The structure makes the material 10 times tougher than nacre, commonly known as mother of pearl. This toughness, or resistance to fractures, comes from a unique configuration based on three different levels of hierarchy in the material’s internal structure.
Continue reading at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Photo: Researchers at MIT have explored the secrets behind the conch shell’s extraordinary impact resilience. The findings are reported in a new study by MIT graduate student Grace Gu (right), postdoc Mahdi Takaffoli (left), and McAfee Professor of Engineering Markus Buehler. (Credits: Melanie Gonick / MIT)
