Table of Contents

Preface vii CHAPTER ONE: Basic Elasticity and Viscoelasticity 1 1.1 Hookean Materials and Short-Range Forces 1 1.2 Non-Hookean Materials and High Strains 4 1.3 The Energy Approach 6 1.4 Yield and Fracture 21 1.5 Adhesion 28 CHAPTER TWO: Proteins 29 2.1 Amino Acids and Their Polymerization--Primary Structure 29 2.2 Conformation--Secondary Structure 33 2.3 Structural Proteins 35 2.4 Coping with Strain Energy 57 CHAPTER THREE: Sugars and Fillers 61 3.1 Fibers 65 3.2 Structural Polysaccharides in Plants 68 3.3 Water, the Invisible Support 72 3.4 Mucus 82 CHAPTER FOUR: Soggy Skeletons and Shock Absorbers 84 4.1 Composite Materials 84 4.2 Stress--Strain Behavior 88 4.3 Poisson's Ratio and Auxeticism 89 4.4 The Skeleton of the S ea Anemone 95 4.5 Stretching the Pregnant L ocust 99 4.6 Fracture--Chance and Choice 101 4.7 Stiffness--A Biological Variable 108 CHAPTER FIVE: Stiff Materials from Polymers 116 5.1 Crystals and O rder 116 5.2 Composite Materials 118 5.3 To Stiffen the Matrix 129 5.4 Hardness and Indentation 133 5.5 Cellular Materials 135 CHAPTER SIX: Biological Ceramics 143 6.1 Calcium Salts or Silica? 144 6.2 Problems with Mechanical Tests 147 6.3 Mollusc Shells 151 6.4 The Functional Design of Bone 159 6.5 Teeth 169 6.6 Eggshell 171 6.7 Echinoderms 175 CHAPTER SEVEN: Implementing Ideas Gleaned from Biology 178 7.1 Biomimetic Products 179 7.2 Quasi-Biomimetic Products 185 7.3 Techniques for Biomimetics 187 7.4 Instead of nergy ... 193 7.5 Use Space 195 7.6 . . or Use Information ...197 7.7 ... and Structure ... 199 7.8 Well, That's It 204 References 205 Index 223

About the Author

Julian Vincent, a biologist with a long-standing interest in engineering, is Honorary Professor of Biomimetics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Bath University and Special Professor in the Faculty of the Built Environment at Nottingham University.

Reviews

"Structural Biomaterials bridges an important gap between mechanical behavior and biology... Dispersed throughout the text are numerous humorous examples or anecdotes, which lighten the reading."--Choice Praise for the first edition: "[A]n excellent introduction to the field... The easy style and the lighthearted references to such things as the 'fracture of table jelly' and 'half-boiled notions' about egg shells will help biological readers to cope with the many complex physical concepts introduced."--John M. Gosline, American Scientist Praise for the first edition: "This book should go a long way towards filling the communication gap between biology and physics... It begins with the basic theory of elasticity and viscoelasticity, describing concepts like stress, strain, compliance and plasticity in simple mathematical terms... For the non-biologist, these chapters provide a clear account of macromolecular structure and conformation... [Vincent's work] is a delight to read, full of interesting anecdotes and examples from unexpected sources... I can strongly recommend this book, as it shows how biologists could use mechanical properties as well as conventional methods to deduce molecular structure."--Anna Furth, Times Higher Education Supplement