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Spatially Dependent Mechanical Properties Of Rat Whiskers For Tactile Sensing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

E. K. Herzog ,
D. F. Bahr ,
C. D. Richards ,
R. F. Richards  and
D. M. Rector
E. K. Herzog
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, PO Box 642920, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164
D. F. Bahr
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, PO Box 642920, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164
C. D. Richards
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, PO Box 642920, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164
R. F. Richards
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, PO Box 642920, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164
D. M. Rector
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology, PO Box 7010, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164
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Abstract

A new generation of sensors based on biologically inspired whisking action will help determine the presence and location of solid objects and fluid vortices similar to mechanisms used by whisker bearing animals such as rats and seals. By using nanoindentation, we demonstrate that mechanical properties are essentially uniform by cross section, but vary longitudinally from the whisker base (a 3.9 GPa elastic modulus) to the tip (a 3.1 GPa elastic modulus). Several recent studies show propagation of high frequency information through whiskers that are tuned by their physical properties. In order to fully understand and model these properties, this study demonstrates a more complex whisker structure than previously assumed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 841: Symposium R – Fundamentals of Nanoindentation and Nanotribology III , 2004 , R3.6/Y3.6
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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