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Comparison of the Morphology, Structures and Mechanical Properties of Teleost Fish Scales Collected from New Zealand

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Abstract

The mechanical properties and structures of fish scales have generated considerable research interest, however, comparative studies for different fish scales from different water regions have not been reported. In this paper, the surface morphologies, hierarchical structures and mechanical properties of four kinds of fish scales collected from freshwater, shallow sea, and deep sea in New Zealand are investigated. The results indicate that the surface morphologies of those fish scales are similar at ventro-lateral, dorso-lateral and anterior locations, and the hierarchical structures of those fish scales all consist of two layers: a bone layer and a collagen layer composed of collagen fibrils. However, the spiral angles of the collagen lamellaes of different scales are different. The largest are Mugil cephalus scales, while the smallest are Cyprinus carpio scales. Comparing the mechanical behaviors of those fish scales, the tensile strength of Carassius auratus scales is the largest, but the ductility is the lowest. Pristipomoides sieboldii scales have the best ductility. Further, the relationship between hierarchical structures and mechanical properties of fish scales is discussed. It is found that the spiral angles of the collagen lamellaes and bond/collagen thickness ratio both have a great influence on the mechanical properties of fish scales.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key R&D Program of Hunan Province (2017GK2130), High-level Talent Gathering Project in Hunan Province (2018RS3057), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M632957), and Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate. Our sincere thanks are due to Bruno David, Waikato Regional Council for arranging for the collection of fish samples from Lake Waikare, Waikato district and for Steve, the Counties Sport Fishing Club for collecting samples of mullets from Waiuku, South Auckland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Green & Advanced Civil Engineering Materials and Application Technology of Hunan Province, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Deju Zhu & Chaohui Zhang

  2. International Science Innovation Collaboration Base for Green & Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Deju Zhu

  3. College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Peng Liu

  4. Flat Bush, Manukau, Auckland, 2016, New Zealand

    Laith A. Jawad

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  1. Deju Zhu
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  2. Chaohui Zhang
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  3. Peng Liu
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  4. Laith A. Jawad
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Correspondence to Deju Zhu or Peng Liu.

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Zhu, D., Zhang, C., Liu, P. et al. Comparison of the Morphology, Structures and Mechanical Properties of Teleost Fish Scales Collected from New Zealand. J Bionic Eng 16, 328–336 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-019-0028-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-019-0028-1

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