Membranous sheath of a fan worm functions as a high-performance energy absorber and stabilizer

Multilayered structure at the macroscale is a prevailing pathway for developing high-performance energy absorbers. Nowadays, most multilayer-structure-based energy absorbers are constructed with rigid materials, but research on utilizing soft materials as energy-absorbing devices is still rare. By understanding the function of membranous sheathes in the stimuli responsiveness of fan worms (Polychaeta: Sabellastarte australiensis), in this work, we report a robust biological energy absorber made of multilayer-structured soft material. Our study reveals that structural features govern the mechanical performance and the energy-absorption capacity of this soft energy absorber. Ultimately, through kinematic analysis of fan worms, we elucidate the advantage of soft-material-based energy absorbers in stabilizing assistance compared with rigid counterparts. Our work takes a significant step toward understanding the design principle of soft-material-based energy absorbers and may shed light on flexible protective devices for soft robotics.

efficient stabilizer, fan worm, hooks-membrane apparatus, multilayer-structured material, robust energy absorber

10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101253

2666-3864

Bai, Siyu

6345824d-442f-4b6c-a79f-c1182cb98316

Tang, Shi Yang

1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4

Wu, Jianing

e6c7d221-e7d1-48a6-8757-9383e9a74a16

15 February 2023

Bai, Siyu

6345824d-442f-4b6c-a79f-c1182cb98316

Tang, Shi Yang

1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4

Wu, Jianing

e6c7d221-e7d1-48a6-8757-9383e9a74a16

Bai, Siyu, Tang, Shi Yang and Wu, Jianing (2023) Membranous sheath of a fan worm functions as a high-performance energy absorber and stabilizer. Cell Reports Physical Science, 4 (2), [101253]. (doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101253).

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Accepted/In Press date: 4 January 2023

Published date: 15 February 2023

Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 51905556 and 52275298 ), the Grant for Popularization of Scientific and Technological Innovation of Guangdong Province (grant no. 2020A1414040007 ), and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (grant nos. GXWD20201231165807008 and GXWD20200830220051001 ). S.-Y.T. is grateful for the support from the Royal Society ( IEC/NSFC/201223 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors

Keywords: efficient stabilizer, fan worm, hooks-membrane apparatus, multilayer-structured material, robust energy absorber