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Flexible snake armour

Snakes are a classic example in terms of their flexibility of movement

and adaptability. However, because they are limbless, their bodies

have to permanently endure friction forces. A snake’s skin must last

two to three months until it is shed. It was these properties that

prompted researchers at Kiel University, Germany, to explore the idea

of snake skin as a model for wear-resistant materials. So they decided

to examine the skin of four snake species with very different habitats.

They discovered that although the thickness and structure of snake

skin vary depending on the species, the skin of all species has a stiff

and hard outside, and becomes softer and more flexible towards the

inside. A material that changes from being stiff on the outside to more

flexible on the inside can distribute an impact force over a larger

area. This combination of hard and soft creates a “flexible armour”.

The frictional properties of snake skin are an important model for the

bionics research being conducted at Kiel University for the develop-

ment of new and the optimisation of already existing materials.

Festo AG & Co. KG

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D-73734 Esslingen

Phone ++49 (0) 711 347 0

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