DeterminingtheMicrostrainofBiologicalCompositesbyX-RayDiffraction.docVIP

Determining the Microstrain of Biological Composites by X-Ray Diffraction Alyssa J. Roessler Office of Science, Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program Duke University, Durham NC Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Menlo Park, California August 15, 2008 Prepared in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the Office of Science, Department of Energy’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship under the direction of Apurva Mehta in the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory division of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Participant: ______________________________ Signature Research Advisor: ______________________________ Signature Table of Contents Page Abstract……………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 4 Materials and Methods…………………………………………………………...…….. 5 Results………………………………………………………………….……..8 Discussion and Conclusion…………………………………………………………….. 9 Future Work……………………………………………………………………… 10 Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………… 11 References……………………………………………………………………………… 12 Figures…………………………………………………………………………………..13 ABSTRACT Determining the Microstrain of Biological Composites by X-Ray Diffraction. ALYSSA J. ROESSLER (Duke University, Durham, NC 27708) APURVA MEHTA (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA 94025). The mechanical properties of biological composites are often more desirable than those of the material’s constituent parts. These emergent properties are determined by the microstructure of the composite and how the material components interact on a microscopic level. In order to better understand how the emergent properties arise, the function of the constituent parts of the material must be known. In this research, the mechanical properties of the biological composite nacre were investigated by applying various levels of strain to prepared samples. The microscopic response of the material was observed using x-ray diffraction techniques. Diffraction patterns collected from the nacre sampl