A shared geometric design may account for part of the strength of sea urchin bones.
Researchers reveal in the August Journal of the Royal Society Interface that components of the skeletons of common sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) follow a pattern similar to that observed in honeycombs and dragonfly wings. Investigating this repeating natural order might lead to the development of novel materials that are both strong and lightweight.
According to marine biologist and biomimetic consultant Valentina Perricone, urchin skeletons exhibit “an extraordinary range of architectures at the microscale, ranging from highly organised to utterly disordered.” These structures may aid animals in maintaining their form in the face of predator assaults and environmental challenges.
Perricone discovered “a remarkable pattern” while studying urchin skeleton tubercules (spots where the spines adhere that endure significant mechanical stresses) with a scanning electron microscope. She and her colleagues discovered that tuberculosis appears to follow a form of common natural order known as a Voronoi pattern.
A Voronoi pattern is formed using arithmetic by dividing a territory into polygon-shaped cells that are built around points within them known as seeds. The cells adhere to the closest Neighbour rule, which states that any location inside a cell is closer to that cell’s seed than to any other seed. Furthermore, the boundary between two cells is equidistant from both of their seeds.
A computer-generated Voronoi pattern matched the pattern discovered in sea urchin bones by 82%. The team thinks that this arrangement results in a robust yet lightweight skeletal system. According to Perricone of the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” in Aversa, Italy, the pattern “may be regarded as an evolutionary answer” that “optimizes the skeleton.”
Voronoi architecture benefits more than only urchins, dragonflies, and bees. According to Perricone, “we are constructing a library of bioinspired, Voronoi-based structures” that might “function as lightweight and durable solutions” for materials design. She expects that this will spur new advances in materials science, aerospace, architecture, and construction.
image credits: Perricone
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