[P1-46] Microstructures of turtle shell and biomimetic fabrication
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation shows that the shell of red-ear turtle is a kind of natural sandwich composite consisting of exterior cortex and interior cancellus. It is also observed that the hydroxyapatite fibers in the composite continuously surround the holes of the composite forming a particular fiber-surrounded-hole structure. Based on the result of the observation, a biomimetic composite with the fiber-surrounded-hole structure is fabricated. The ultimate strength of the biomimetic composite is tested and compared with that of the conventional composite with the non-fiber-surrounded-hole structure. It is indicated that the ultimate strength of the biomimetic composite is remarkably larger than that of the conventional composite.