This sounds very interesting and feels like a good approach to
biomimetic design. There are plenty of examples of feet which can
change their morphology with circumstance - they don't have to be
confined to cold areas. Anywhere the substrate changes, such as deserts
(solid/sand) and birds which use their feet both on land and in water.
And there are some nice designs for animals which live in marshy areas
(e.g. coot feet).
What are the properties you need from resilin, abductin, collagen and
nacre? They may already exist in current materials.
There are many insects which live in sub-zero temperatures. Those which
are freeze-resistant can exist to temperatures of about -20 (though they
aren't particularly active) without much change. Freeze tolerant ones
can go lower still. There was some nice work done on low temperature
tolerance of ground beetles done in Canada a few years ago. And why is
most of northern Canada out of bounds? Blackfly and mosquito. So
_they_ exist at sub-zero temperatures. Also Berndt Heinrich has done
quite a bit of work on moths which fly in winter. I can't offhand
rememebr their temperature regimes, but they gain control and
localisation of heat by using countercurrent heat exchangers.
With regard to generating heat by flexing a material, that inevitably
implies that you lose some elastic recoil, since the (strain) energy for
recoil is being converted into something else. However there are some
materials (I can't remember which - Tony Harman knows if he's still on
this list. If not I'll rattle his cage for you!) which change phase
when mechanically disturbed, releasing latent heat as they do so. But
this is a one-off reaction and is (probably) unmodulated. I'd think
you'd be better off either trying to retain heat (cf penguin feathers)
or shunting it around (winter moth, ice fish, tuna, etc).
Keep us posted on your progress!
Julian Vincent
Ernest McCrank wrote:
>
> I am a graduate student of industrial design at The University
> of Calgary working on my Master’s degree project.
>
> I am looking for biological inspirations for cold weather design.
> I am designing a ski/snowshoe that is dynamic in that it changes
> from ski to snowshoe, and back repeatedly, depending on the terrain.
> I am taking a biomimetic approach to this project to possibly see
> the implications and potential limitations/benefits of biomimetics
> as an approach for the design process.
>
> Thus far, I have been looking at both plant and animal life for
> inspiration. Structural elements of plants (e.g. cross-sections
> of branches and their means of fastening to stems) and animals
> (e.g. ligament structure and layout related to connections to
> rimiges in a swan’s wing) have been of interest. Also, I am looking
> into the use of materials embodying properties similar those found
> in resilin, abductin, collagen and abalone nacre.
>
> Does anyone know of any animal that has an exoskeleton that lives
> in sub-zero temperatures?
>
> Materials that can transform kinetic energy into heat energy – and
> by retaining this heat be able to enable some elasticity. In other
> words, I am investigating potential means of creating a product that
> dynamically “warms up” with the user, potentially creating an
> “intimate” relationship between subject and object.
>
> I would be very appreciative of any ideas, leads or suggestions.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Ernest McCrank
> Faculty of Environmental Design,
> University of Calgary
> [log in to unmask]
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