RESEARCH OF THE NANOMETER HELICOIDAL LAYUP OF RUFESCENS SHELL.

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation on a Rufescens shell shows that the shell is a bio-ceramic composite consisting of aragonite sheets with nanometer scale and organic matrix. These nano-aragonite sheets are arranged in the shell in the form of helicoidal layup. The reason of the excellent fracture toughness of the shell is analyzed based on the maximal pullout force of the helicoidal layup of the aragonite sheets in the shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]