Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz)
Other Authors: Terry Knight and Christine Ortiz.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64564
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author Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz)
author2 Terry Knight and Christine Ortiz.
author_facet Terry Knight and Christine Ortiz.
Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz)
author_sort Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz)
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010.
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spelling mit-1721.1/645642019-04-10T08:55:52Z Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae Design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz) Terry Knight and Christine Ortiz. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Architecture. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-101). This thesis is about designing structures that combine the dual functions of mechanical protection and flexibility of motion. The structures are inspired by principles observed in the ganoid squamation (scale assembly) of an ancient fish species called Polypteridae, which first appeared 96 million years ago. Prior work on Polypteridae has focused on understanding the role of the inherent material properties (e.g., stiffness, strength, etc.) of the individual bony scales to provide penetration resistance. Here, geometric design is explored at increasingly larger length scales including 1) morphometric features within individual scales, 2) morphometry of the individual scales as a whole, 3) scale-to-scale interconnections and anisotropic ranges of motion, and, lastly, 4) the entire assembled scale squamation and anisotropic ranges of motion of the entire fish body. Experimental, computational, and mathematical methods employed were micro-computed tomography, microscopy, morphometric analysis, and three-dimensional printing of prototypes. The geometrical design principles discovered were related to biomechanical mobility and protection and then implemented into a generalized, functional design system which possesses similar anisotropic distinctive degrees of freedom and ranges of motion as Polypteridae. The design system offers potential for applications in fields of transportation, military, and architecture. by Steffen H. Reichert. S.M. 2011-06-20T15:51:49Z 2011-06-20T15:51:49Z 2010 2010 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64564 726747682 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 101 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Architecture.
Reichert, Steffen H. (Steffen Heinz)
Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title_full Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title_fullStr Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title_full_unstemmed Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title_short Reverse engineering nature : design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of Polypteridae
title_sort reverse engineering nature design principles for flexible protection inspired by ancient fish armor of polypteridae
topic Architecture.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64564
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