Output details
14 - Civil and Construction Engineering
Cardiff University
Hierarchical, multilayered cell walls reinforced by recycled silk cocoons enhance the structural integrity of honeybee combs
The sophisticated and hierarchical structure of honeybee combs from the nano to the macro scales has been revealed for the first time. The research in this paper provides a prototype of truly bio-mimetic engineering, light-weight cellular materials that are indispensable to modern industry. A cellular solid which truly mimics the microstructure of natural honeycombs, in particular the non-homogeneity of its composite cell walls, and not just its macroscopic geometry as the current engineering honeycombs do, will provide a remarkable degree of design flexibility for a myriad of applications.