huuuuuuge bike nerd
we're doing biomimetics at skool again..
i looked at bikes and how they have tubular frames and are usually made of metal, but I wanted to explore other ways of making fast bikes from looking at nature.
Bicycles need three things in order to be fast. light weight, stiffness, and aerodynamics.
The best example of this is seen in the toucan. It's beak is enormous, yet it is capable of flying, and despite it's size, the beak does not hold back the bird during flight. The beak is also incredibly strong, and is used as a tool to break open hard shells of melons and for eating berries. The reason why the toucan's beak is so strong is because of the shape, as well as the material. It's shape is aerodynamic, but if one looks closely at the structure of the beak they'll see that it has a hard shell made of keratin (like nails) that is very dense. The inner crusts of the beak become less dense through each layer, however it does not compromise the strength or stiffness since the structure within the center of the beak resembles the lattice work of bones. Like spiderman's spray. This detail can be seen to the nanometer. They are very intricate and complex and distribute impacts very efficiently.
So my goal became mimicking the structure. I found out that some prosthetic bones are made of a carbon polymer that can be poured into a mould, and electrified in order to align the carbon and make it strong. The detail one can reach with carbon polymers is accurate to the nanometer as well. I thought of creating a bike mould with the toucan's intricate design within the mould such that once the bike was made, it would have similar properties to the toucan's beak. The problem is, a mould would require two halves to seperate such that the cavity could be removed from the final product. This is not possible with a structure like a bone because it grows in hundreds of different directions.
Also, carbon fiber is glued together. Epoxy glues are not natural and it would be a shame to use them in a design that was purely inspired by something natural so I wondered weather using muscle protein as a glue would be better. This protein when mixed with another natural agent (i can't remember now) has been proven to create a water proof, natural adhesive that is currently being used in modern hardwood floors. Imagine if this adhesive could be used with carbon fiber, or perhaps in combination with keratin. Keratin is not only extremely strong, but has the capability to regenerate itself.
Now we're looking at a bicycle that is light, strong, stiff, aerodynamic, and fights material fatigue
The idea is there, but there are still holes that need filling. Primarily, what technology can be used besides the ones mentioned to create a structure like the inside of a bone accurately. There is stereolithography, a form of 3d printer, moulds (which seem like they would not work in this case), or perhaps a spray that shoots out a polymer like spiderman's web that hardens like a bird's bone. I'm sure there are more, but as you can tell it's a huge design problem
Then there's the bike design itself. It is aerodynamic in shape but also streams air into parts of the bike it would help most, like the bottom of the rear wheel. The shape of the bike accounts for the shape of the rider, since aerodynamic shapes are usually one stream rather than a bunch of separate shapes like tubes cause they create drag
i looked at bikes and how they have tubular frames and are usually made of metal, but I wanted to explore other ways of making fast bikes from looking at nature.
Bicycles need three things in order to be fast. light weight, stiffness, and aerodynamics.
The best example of this is seen in the toucan. It's beak is enormous, yet it is capable of flying, and despite it's size, the beak does not hold back the bird during flight. The beak is also incredibly strong, and is used as a tool to break open hard shells of melons and for eating berries. The reason why the toucan's beak is so strong is because of the shape, as well as the material. It's shape is aerodynamic, but if one looks closely at the structure of the beak they'll see that it has a hard shell made of keratin (like nails) that is very dense. The inner crusts of the beak become less dense through each layer, however it does not compromise the strength or stiffness since the structure within the center of the beak resembles the lattice work of bones. Like spiderman's spray. This detail can be seen to the nanometer. They are very intricate and complex and distribute impacts very efficiently.
So my goal became mimicking the structure. I found out that some prosthetic bones are made of a carbon polymer that can be poured into a mould, and electrified in order to align the carbon and make it strong. The detail one can reach with carbon polymers is accurate to the nanometer as well. I thought of creating a bike mould with the toucan's intricate design within the mould such that once the bike was made, it would have similar properties to the toucan's beak. The problem is, a mould would require two halves to seperate such that the cavity could be removed from the final product. This is not possible with a structure like a bone because it grows in hundreds of different directions.
Also, carbon fiber is glued together. Epoxy glues are not natural and it would be a shame to use them in a design that was purely inspired by something natural so I wondered weather using muscle protein as a glue would be better. This protein when mixed with another natural agent (i can't remember now) has been proven to create a water proof, natural adhesive that is currently being used in modern hardwood floors. Imagine if this adhesive could be used with carbon fiber, or perhaps in combination with keratin. Keratin is not only extremely strong, but has the capability to regenerate itself.
Now we're looking at a bicycle that is light, strong, stiff, aerodynamic, and fights material fatigue
The idea is there, but there are still holes that need filling. Primarily, what technology can be used besides the ones mentioned to create a structure like the inside of a bone accurately. There is stereolithography, a form of 3d printer, moulds (which seem like they would not work in this case), or perhaps a spray that shoots out a polymer like spiderman's web that hardens like a bird's bone. I'm sure there are more, but as you can tell it's a huge design problem
Then there's the bike design itself. It is aerodynamic in shape but also streams air into parts of the bike it would help most, like the bottom of the rear wheel. The shape of the bike accounts for the shape of the rider, since aerodynamic shapes are usually one stream rather than a bunch of separate shapes like tubes cause they create drag