Design of the testing procedure for investigation of Eryx conicus dermal armour characteristics

The aim of this work is to develop an experimental method suitable for the mechanical testing of highly non-standard biological samples such as snake skin with osteoderms. The objective of the method is to determine, whether the osteoderms provide a protective function for the animal in its natural environment. For this purpose, a simulation of rodents biting the skin based on uni-axial compressive loading using a synthetic tooth as a penetrator was developed with an emphasis on integration with X-ray scanners to facilitate in-situ testing. To identify and characterise the structure of snake skin and to prove the protective function of osteoderms, all samples were subjected to high resolution X-ray computed tomography. The results of the experiments are presented in the form of stress-strain curves and a map of the tangent modulus.