Publication: Estudio de la relación entre tipo estructural y función biológica en la tela de araña orbicular
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2017-10
Defense date
2017-12-15
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Abstract
La tela de araña orbicular es una estructura ligera, capaz de detener presas aéreas cuyas masas son muy superiores a la de ésta. Además, la tela es renovada constantemente por la araña en ciclos que duran habitualmente un día, lo que permite que este animal adapte las características geométricas y resistentes a las condiciones externas cambiantes con objeto de mejorar la funcionalidad de la tela y, por tanto, favorecer su propia supervivencia. En la presente tesis se estudian las relaciones existentes entre tipo estructural y función biológica en la tela de araña orbicular, empleando una aproximación metodológica fundamentada en la Mecánica de Sólidos. Para ello se han desarrollado modelos numéricos y analíticos, y se han utilizado así mismo los resultados experimentales recabados por el autor de la tesis durante su estancia predoctoral en el Oxford Silk Group. Durante el desarrollo de los modelos se ha prestado especial atención a la consideración de los efectos más relevantes presentes en el comportamiento dinámico de las telas de araña: geometría, comportamiento mecánico de la seda, fuerza aerodinámica, o pretensión en los hilos de seda. Así mismo, se han modelado las solicitaciones de mayor relevancia a las que se ve sometida la tela de araña: impacto y viento, que desafían su resistencia estructural, y vibraciones, utilizadas por la araña como sistema de ecolocalización.
El uso de modelos ha permitido realizar estudios paramétricos, que
han contribuido a clarificar el papel que aspectos tales como las fuerzas
aerodinámicas, la presencia de hilos en zonas específicas, la pretensión o
las propiedades del hilo de seda, juegan en el comportamiento de la tela
de araña como estructura y, por tanto, en el desempeño de su función
biológica.
Los resultados de la tesis presentan valor tanto en el ámbito de
la biología, dado que aportan nuevas claves sobre el comportamiento
mecánico y la evolución de las telas orbiculares, como en el ámbito de la
ingeniería, en tanto que permiten aprovechar su evolución experimentada
a lo largo de cientos de millones de años para el diseño de nuevas
estructuras bio-inspiradas.
The orbicular spider web is a lightweight structure capable of arresting aerial prey with masses several orders of magnitude higher than that of the web itself. Moreover, the web is constantly rebuilt by the spider, typically in daily cycles, which allows this animal to tailor the geometric and mechanical characteristics to the evolving external conditions. This permits to improve the functionallity of the web and to favor the survivality of the spider. The present thesis studies the relation between the structural typology and the biological function in spider orbicular webs, using a methodological approach based on Solid Mechanics. To that aim numerical and analytical models have been developed. The experimental results collected by the autor of the thesis during his stay in the Oxford Silk Group have been also used. For the deveolpment of the models, particular attention has been paid to consider the most relevant effects playing a role in the dynamic response of spider orb-webs: geometry, mechanical behaviour of the silk, aerodynamic drag, or thread pre-stress. Likewise, the most important solicitations acting on the web have been accounted: prey impact and wind, which challenge the structural strength, and vibrations, used by the spider to identify the position of the excitation source. The usage of models permitted to perform parametric analyses, that contributed to clarify the role played in the structural response of the web by aspects such as aerodynamic force, presence of threads in specific positions, pre-stresses, or silk mechanical properties. The results presented in the thesis are valuable both in the biological field, given that they provide a new insight in the mechanical behaviour and evolution of spider webs, and in the engineering field, since the permit to take advantage of hundreds of millions of years of evolution for the design of new bio-inspired structures.
The orbicular spider web is a lightweight structure capable of arresting aerial prey with masses several orders of magnitude higher than that of the web itself. Moreover, the web is constantly rebuilt by the spider, typically in daily cycles, which allows this animal to tailor the geometric and mechanical characteristics to the evolving external conditions. This permits to improve the functionallity of the web and to favor the survivality of the spider. The present thesis studies the relation between the structural typology and the biological function in spider orbicular webs, using a methodological approach based on Solid Mechanics. To that aim numerical and analytical models have been developed. The experimental results collected by the autor of the thesis during his stay in the Oxford Silk Group have been also used. For the deveolpment of the models, particular attention has been paid to consider the most relevant effects playing a role in the dynamic response of spider orb-webs: geometry, mechanical behaviour of the silk, aerodynamic drag, or thread pre-stress. Likewise, the most important solicitations acting on the web have been accounted: prey impact and wind, which challenge the structural strength, and vibrations, used by the spider to identify the position of the excitation source. The usage of models permitted to perform parametric analyses, that contributed to clarify the role played in the structural response of the web by aspects such as aerodynamic force, presence of threads in specific positions, pre-stresses, or silk mechanical properties. The results presented in the thesis are valuable both in the biological field, given that they provide a new insight in the mechanical behaviour and evolution of spider webs, and in the engineering field, since the permit to take advantage of hundreds of millions of years of evolution for the design of new bio-inspired structures.
Description
Mención Internacional en el título de doctor
Keywords
Tela de araña orbicular, Comportamiento dinámico, Función biológica, Spiderwebs