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Thursday, March 24 • 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Design Inspired by Limpets: A biomimicry-based approach to finding sustainable solutions

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This paper focuses on the study of a fascinating organism called the limpet, a dome-style, shelled organism that lives in intertidal zones. Limpets can withstand the varying amounts of pressure from crashing waves during high tide to those at low tide, when limpets must trap water in their shells to avoid being dried out. They're able to hold onto rough, uneven rocks, making it almost impossible to remove them with one's bare hands, and while biologists have studied limpets, no one has discovered exactly how they hold on to rocks with such clamping force. In this paper, the clamping mechanism of limpets will be explored and measured, and potential applications of limpet-inspired, environmentally friendly product designs will be presented. These include the development of temporary attachments on multiple terrains, underwater robotic technology, and caps for underwater oil and gas spills.


Thursday March 24, 2011 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Wright

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