1. Limpets – A Biomimicry Approach Lavanya Jawaharlal Diamond Bar High School

2. Junior at Diamond Bar High School, CA Visited Costa Rica in April 2010 stayed in the rainforest for 1 week, near Osa Peninsula Considered to be one of the most bio-diverse places in the world Inspired to learn more about nature  Biomimicry Background

3. bio - meaning life mimesis – meaning to imitate An attempt to emulate nature’s form, process, and ecosystem nature has already solved many of the problems humans face today Biomimicry http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/biomimic.html

5. Nature has had more time to evolve and change accordingly Humans have had very little time Nature as a guide Measure, the rightness of the function Mentor and Measure

6. Adam Nieman

8. Nature Inspired Designs Examples

9. Burr Photo Burr: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/photos/7-ultra-green-extreme-sports Engineering Design: Velcro Plant: has small hooks on the end of the burr needles Mimic: hooks to create velcro Effectiveness: easy attachment for materials

10. Engineering Design: Zimbabwe building Natural Mound: has a self-cooling system Mimic: the building uses large chimneys like the tunnels in the termite mound Effectiveness: uses 90% less energy to heat/cool the building Termite Mound http://www.portlandhouse.com.au/gallery-029.html

11. Member of the MolluscaGastropoda family Are found mainly in the mid-intertidal and sub-tidal zones Clings to rocks and uneven surfaces Have an oval-shaped shell Limpets Lavanya Jawaharlal, Costa Rica 2010

12. Three parts to a limpet Head-foot: contains the locomotion and sensory reception Mass: contains organs Mantle: the outer shell protecting the mass Body Composition http://www.weblearneng.com/limpet

13. Limpets have not been part of an engineering design How can limpets help us? The strength could be imitated to make fasteners that are optimal and non-toxic *Today, there are adhesives, such as epoxy and super glue, that produce excess waste and toxic *fasteners, like suction cups, can not maintain a grip on uneven or unsmooth surfaces

14. holding force Multi-terrain clamp cap/plug Applications

15. Measuring the Force experiment

16. touch a limpet, the mass and mantle stiffen as tapping increases, the holding force increases (Smith 1991) Response Test

17. To test the holding force: Tied a thread around the shell Used a spring scale to measure up to 50lbs Smith (1991) designed a similar experiment

18. Measure force of the waves Lift and drag Find the hydrodynamic forces Simultaneously measure the holding force of limpet Holding force: Use a sensor-based system connected to a computer Load cells Strain gauges The Ideal Experiment

19. Unable to complete an ideal experiment Experiment can not take place without jeopardizing the limpet’s natural behavior Intertidal zones leave room for a large error of measurement

20. Thank you teacher (Nature) for the inspiration

21. http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/ http://www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/limpets.html http://academics.smcvt.edu/dfacey/AquaticBiology/Coastal/Limpets.html Cites Used