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Multilevel Micro Structures of the Clam Make the Sealing Even Tighter

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Abstract

Excellent fluid sealing performance is crucial to ensuring the safety of important equipment, especially in aerospace field, such as space capsule and fuel chamber. The frequently opening and closing of the sealing devices is particularly important. Driven by this background, clams (Mactra chinensis) which can open and close their double shells with superior sealing performance, are studied in this work. Here, we show that the clam’s sealing ability is the result of its unique multilevel intermeshing microstructures, including hinge teeth and micro-blocks. These microstructures, which resemble gear teeth, engage with each other when the shell closes, forming a tight structure that prevents the infiltration of water from the outside. Furthermore, the presence of micron blocks prevents the penetration of finer liquids. The simulation results of the bionic end seal components show that the multilevel microstructure has a superior sealing effect. This research is expected to be applied to undersea vehicles that require frequent door opening and closing.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52105296, 51973165 and 62161160311), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2042022kf1220), Open Fund of Hubei Key Laboratory of Electronic Manufacturing and Packaging Integration (Wuhan University) (EMPI2023020) and Large-scale Instrument And Equipment Sharing Foundation of Wuhan University.

Funding

This article is funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, 52105296, Daobing Chen, 51973165, Longjian Xue, 62161160311, Longjian Xue, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, 2042022kf1220, Yifeng Lei, Large-Scale Instrument and Equipment Sharing Foundation of Wuhan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute of Technological Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Daobing Chen & Sheng Liu

  2. School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Xiaolong Zhang, Ruteng Wang, Zhen Lin, Yifeng Lei & Longjian Xue

  3. The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, China

    Junqiu Zhang & Zhiwu Han

  4. Institute of Structured and Architected Materials, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang, 110167, China

    Junqiu Zhang & Zhiwu Han

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  1. Daobing Chen
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  2. Xiaolong Zhang
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  5. Ruteng Wang
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Chen, D., Zhang, X., Zhang, J. et al. Multilevel Micro Structures of the Clam Make the Sealing Even Tighter. J Bionic Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-024-00488-5

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