Site investigations at limited-access project sites often require mobilization of smaller rigs that may not have the reaction mass required to perform soundings to the desired depth. This study explores the feasibility of a new conceptual bio-inspired solution by adapting functional principles from organisms whose primary mode of locomotion is soil burrowing, including razor clams, caecilians, and earthworms. These organisms radially expand a segment of their body to increase the normal radial pressure acting on it to temporarily form an anchor. This study evaluates the dimensions required for self-penetration of an idealized bio-inspired probe consisting of a radially expanding shaft and a penetrating tip. Cavity expansion analyses, field test data, and theoretical relationships from the literature are used to evaluate the self-penetration potential in different soil types. The results indicate that the resistance to self-penetration is higher in dense sands than in silts and clays. In sands, the resistance to self-penetration is greater for sands that exhibit a more dilative behavior at a given overburden pressure. On the contrary, the resistance to self-penetration in clays decreases slightly as the overconsolidation ratio is increased. The relative dimensions required to initiate self-penetration predicted by cavity expansion analysis are compared with the dimensions of various burrowing organisms.
Antioxidant Potential of the Shell of Razor Clams (Solen spp) in Antidiabetic Mellitus Type II Therapy