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Slow viscoelastic response of resilin.

Author
Abstract
:

The high importance of resilin in invertebrate biomechanics is widely known. It is generally assumed to be an almost perfect elastomer in different tissues. Whereas mechanical properties of resilin were previously determined mainly in tension, here we aimed at studying its mechanical properties in compression. Microindentation of resilin from the wing hinge of Locusta migratoria revealed the clear viscoelastic response of resilin: about a quarter of the mechanical response was assigned to a viscous component in our experiments. Mechanical properties were characterized using a generalized Maxwell model with two characteristic time constants, poroelasticity theory, and alternatively using a 1D model with just one characteristic time constant. Slow viscous responses with 1.7 and 16 s characteristic times were observed during indentation. These results demonstrate that the locust flight system is adapted to both fast and slow mechanical processes. The fast highly elastic process is related to the flight function and the slow viscoelastic process may be related to the wing folding.

Year of Publication
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2018
Journal
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Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology
Date Published
:
2018
ISSN Number
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0340-7594
URL
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https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00359-018-1248-2
DOI
:
10.1007/s00359-018-1248-2
Short Title
:
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
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