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Article
Open AccessA C-shaped hinge for displacement magnification in MEMS rotational structures
The design, analysis, fabrication, and characterization of two distinct MEMS rotational structures are provided; these structures include a classical symmetrical lancet structure and a novel symmetrical C-shap...
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Article
Open AccessImaging and mechanical characterization of different junctions in spider orb webs
Spider silk and spider orb webs are among the most studied biological materials and structures owing to their outstanding mechanical properties. A key feature that contributes significantly to the robustness a...
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Article
Open AccessProtein disorder–order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures
A major goal in materials science is to develop bioinspired functional materials based on the precise control of molecular building blocks across length scales. Here we report a protein-mediated mineralization...
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Article
Open AccessTightening slip knots in raw and degummed silk to increase toughness without losing strength
Knots are fascinating topological elements, which can be found in both natural and artificial systems. While in most of the cases, knots cannot be loosened without breaking the strand where they are tightened,...
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Article
Multiphysics design and implementation of a microsystem for displacement-controlled tensile testing of nanomaterials
MEMS-based tensile testing devices are powerful tools for mechanical characterization of nanoscale materials. In a typical configuration, their design includes an actuator to deliver loads/displacements to a s...
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Article
Analytical and numerical modeling of squeeze-film dam** in perforated microstructures
The literature includes a variety of analytical and semi-analytical models to describe squeeze-film dam** in MEMS perforated structures. Even if many of them have been validated by means of numerical simulat...
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Article
Mechanical characterization of materials at small length scales
A review on the mechanical characterization of materials at small length scale is presented. The focus is on the different micro- and nanoscale testing techniques, the variety of materials investigated by the ...
