Flexible cylinders siphon water: clams

Siphons used by clams to inhale and exhale water are effective due to their flexibility and extensibility.

Biomimicry Taxonomy

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Biomimetic Application Ideas

Flexible pipes that resist leakage/bursting, flexible pipes to manage stormwater overflow in sewer systems.

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[Collapse all sections] Summary

"Cylinders may also act as pipelines carrying one material through another, like underground pipes. Man's oil or drainage pipelines are usually rigid, but in nature flexibility is more valuable for this purpose. Some bivalve molluscs, such as clams, can live quite deep under the sandy sea bed by virtue of their extensible cylindrical siphons, one for inhaling water and the other for exhaling it after the gills have extracted food and oxygen." (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:23)

About the inspiring organism

Bivalvia
Bivalvia

Organism/taxonomy data provided by:
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist

Bioinspired products and application ideas

Application Ideas: Flexible pipes that resist leakage/bursting, flexible pipes to manage stormwater overflow in sewer systems.

Industrial Sector(s) interested in this strategy: Oil and gas, water supply, wastewater management

References

Foy, Sally; Oxford Scientific Films. 1982. The Grand Design: Form and Colour in Animals. Lingfield, Surrey, U.K.: BLA Publishing Limited for J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd, Aldine House, London. 238 p.

Flexible cylinders siphon water: clams

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