1
|
Investigating physical and mechanical properties of nest soils used by mud dauber wasps from a geotechnical engineering perspective. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2192. [PMID: 35140268 PMCID: PMC8828900 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06162-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The quality of nest soils has significant effects on reproductive success in mud dauber species. This study investigated the physical and mechanical properties of the nest soils used by mud daubers from a geotechnical engineering perspective. One hundred thirty-one nests of black and yellow mud daubers were collected from five locations in the south of Louisiana. Moisture and organic contents, densities, void ratios, plasticity, grain size distributions, soil classifications, and penetration resistances of the nest soils were measured. Also, the performance of mud daubers’ nest-compaction method (i.e., repetitive tapping produced by the front legs and mandibles) was evaluated by comparing the densities and penetration resistances between mud dauber nests and Proctor compacted nest soil samples. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to measure the morphology, elemental composition, and mineralogy of the nest soils. Mud dauber nests were made of hard and very stiff well-graded silty soils. The high strengths and high densities of mud dauber nests were attributed to repetitive tapping (similar to vibratory compaction in geotechnical engineering) used by mud daubers for nest construction, high capillary cohesion in the nest soils, well-graded soil grain size distribution, and clay minerals serving as cementing agents in the nest soils.
Collapse
|
2
|
Hemmerle A, Yamaguchi Y, Makowski M, Bäumchen O, Goehring L. Measuring and upscaling micromechanical interactions in a cohesive granular material. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:5806-5814. [PMID: 34032258 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00458a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus challenging in this type of material. Here, we study the properties of a cohesive granular material composed of glass beads held together by soft polymer bridges. We characterise the mechanical response of single bridges under traction and shear, using a setup based on the deflection of flexible micropipettes. These measurements, along with information from X-ray microtomograms of the granular packings, then inform large-scale discrete element model (DEM) simulations. Although simple, these simulations are constrained in every way by empirical measurement and accurately predict mechanical responses of the aggregates, including details on their compressive failure, and how the material's stiffness depends on the stiffness and geometry of its parts. By demonstrating how to accurately relate microscopic information to macroscopic properties, these results provide new perspectives for predicting the behaviour of complex disordered materials, such as porous rock, snow, or foam.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Hemmerle
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany and Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Yuta Yamaguchi
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK. and Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan and Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, 1-1 Machikaneyamacho, Toyonaka, 560-0043 Osaka, Japan
| | - Marcin Makowski
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Bäumchen
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17, 37077 Göttingen, Germany and Experimental Physics V, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Lucas Goehring
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK.
| |
Collapse
|