| Author | Mohammad Islam, L. Schadler, Catalin Picu |
|---|---|
| Title | Morphology and mechanics of fungal mycelium |
| Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Abstract | We study a unique biomaterial developed from fungal mycelium, the vegetative part and the root structure of fungi. Mycelium has a flamentous network structure with mechanics largely controlled by flament elasticity and branching, and network density. We report the morphological and mechanical characterization of mycelium through an integrated experimental and computational approach. The monotonic mechanical behavior of the mycelium is non-linear both in tension and compression. The material exhibits considerable strain hardening before rupture under tension, it mimics the open cell foam behavior under compression and exhibits hysteresis and the Mullins efect when subjected to cyclic loading. Based on our morphological characterization and experimental observations, we develop and validate a multiscale fber network-based model for the mycelium which reproduces the tensile and compressive behavior of the material. |
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| DOI Link | 10.1038/s41598-017-13295-2 |