Structural stress response of segmented natural shells: a numerical case study on the clypeasteroid echinoid Echinocyamus pusillus.

ABSTRACT: The skeleton of Echinocyamus pusillus is considered as an exceptional model organism for structural strength and skeletal integrity within the echinoids as demonstrated by the absence of supportive collagenous fibres between single plates and the high preservation potential of their skeletons. The structural principles behind this remarkably stable, multi-plated, light-weight construction remain hardly explored. In this study, high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography, finite-element analysis and physical crushing tests are used to examine the structural mechanisms of this echinoid's skeleton. The virtual model of E. pusillus shows that the material is heterogeneously distributed with high material accumulations in the internal buttress system and at the plate boundaries. Finite-elem

SUBMITTER: Grun TB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6030617 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature