The Elastic Anisotropy of Keratinous Solids

Abstract

The rigidity constants of ram's horn have been determined by using a pulse technique to measure the velocities of propagation along the principal axes of transverse elastic waves of frequency 4 Mc/s. The results show that the conclusion, which was drawn previously from measurement of the dilatational constants, that ram's horn is transversely isotropic about the radial direction, is approximately though not exactly correct. The type of anisotropy and the relative magnitudes of the various elastic constants are directly correlated with the histological structure of the horn, which under the conditions of the measurements is more important than the molecular structure in determining the nature of the elastic anisotropy.