Silk Fiber Mechanics from Multiscale Force Distribution Analysis

Here we decipher the molecular determinants for the extreme toughness of spider silk fibers. Our bottom-up computational approach incorporates molecular dynamics and finite element simulations. Therefore, the approach allows the analysis of the internal strain distribution and load-carrying motifs in silk fibers on scales of both molecular and continuum mechanics. We thereby dissect the contributions from the nanoscale building blocks, the soft amorphous and the strong crystalline subunits, to silk fiber mechanics. We identify the amorphous subunits not only to give rise to high elasticity, but to also ensure efficient stress homogenization through the friction between entangled chains, which also allows the crystals to withstand stresses as high as 2 GPa in the context of the amorphous matrix. We show that the maximal toughness of silk is achieved at 10–40% crystallinity depending on the distribution of crystals in the fiber. We also determined a serial arrangement of the crystalline and amorphous subunits in lamellae to outperform a random or a parallel arrangement, putting forward what we believe to be a new structural model for silk and other semicrystalline materials. The multiscale approach, not requiring any empirical parameters, is applicable to other partially ordered polymeric systems. Hence, it is an efficient tool for the design of artificial silk fibers.