Funktionelles Design von Käferbeingelenken: Morphologie, Tribologie und kutikuläre Mikrostruktur
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
The study focused on the: description of the principal morphological design of leg joints, study of the tribological properties of the cuticle, examination of the contamination resistance, revealing of the supposed presence of the lubrication, analysis of the mechanical propertied of the cuticle. The results of the research project are published in the scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. In the course of the project, a detailed studies of the morphology and anatomy, spatial arrangement of the structural elements, in particular the contacting articular surfaces was carried out using micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy for the leg joints of darkling beetle Zophobas morio and scarab beetle Pachnoda marginata. The tribological properties, such as friction in the leg joints, roughness parameters of the contacting surfaces were determined and measured by the method of microtribometry and white light interferometry respectively coupled with measurements of the surface energy in the form of contacting angle. The anti-contamination properties of leg joints have been studied and a new unique mechanism for auto-cleaning was discovered and studied experimentally. The presence of abrasive wear of the cuticle in the leg joints was discovered and the influence of the type of substrate on the presence and nature of wear was experimentally tested. The underlying mechanisms of the abrasive wear caused by contaminating particles were described. Using the methods of micro-CT, high-speed videography, confocal scanning laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, a unique jumping mechanism in marsh beetles Scirtidae with active latch system has been discovered and investigated. For the first time the lubrication-based anti-friction mechanism in the leg joints of insects (beetles and cockroaches) was discovered. Using the methods of microtribology, the antifriction properties of a semi-solid lubricant isolated from the joints of the legs of the darkling beetle Zophobas morio were experimentally studied, which turned out to be comparable with those of dry PTFE (known as Teflon). The friction-reducing mechanism of the lubricant functioning is proposed and its fundamental chemical composition is analysed using the method of infrared spectroscopy. The results on the studies of the leg joints in beetles and in particular lubrication in the insects’ leg joints have received a significant attention being highlighted in the ‘Nature’ journal (Nature Research Highlights) and broadly internationally broadcasted in mass-media such as ‘New Scientist’, ‘European Scientist’, ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, ‘Wiener Zeitung’ and many others. A video report on the study of beetle leg joints, especially the discovery of lubricant in insects for the first time, was shown on the channel NDR (07.03.2022). A significant interest in the research results on the lubricant has already been expressed from several industrial companies. In this regard, this research may be of particular interest for robotics, microelectromechanical technology, and especially for prosthetics, in order to develop new generation of completely bio-organic lubricants with friction reducing properties similar to Teflon®. Besides, the compiled information about the biomechanical, tribological, functional, and morphological properties of the cuticle of joints in beetle legs is potentially promising as a base for further biomimetic studies with respect to the following aspects: wear, lubrication, anticontamination, mechanical properties of the cuticle, microstructure, and energy storage.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
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Insects use lubricants to minimize friction and wear in leg joints. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288, 20211065.
Nadein, Konstantin; Kovalev, Alexander; Thøgersen, Jan; Weidner, Tobias & Gorb, Stanislav
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Lubrication in the joints of insects (Arthropoda: Insecta). Journal of Zoology, 316(1), 24-39.
Nadein, K. & Gorb, S.
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Jumping mechanism in the marsh beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae). Scientific Reports, 12(1).
Nadein, Konstantin; Kovalev, Alexander & Gorb, Stanislav N.
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Smart joints: auto-cleaning mechanism in the legs of beetles. Communications Biology, 5(1).
Nadein, Konstantin & Gorb, Stanislav
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Abrasive Wear in The Leg Joints of Insects. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 11(2).
Nadein, Konstantin & Gorb, Stanislav N.
