Advanced microscopic characterisation of multi-scale high-resolution mechanical behaviour of a nacre-inspired composite
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Jingyi Mo; Nathanael Leung; Urangua Jargalsaikhan; Hongbo Wan; Bin Zhu; Bo Su; Tan Sui
- Source
- Mo, J, Leung, N, Jargalsaikhan, U, Wan, H, Zhu, B, Su, B & Sui, T 2022, ' Advanced microscopic characterisation of multi-scale high-resolution mechanical behaviour of a nacre-inspired composite ', Composites Communications, vol. 35, 101315 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2022.101315
- Subject
- Polymers and Plastics
Mechanics of Materials
Materials Chemistry
Ceramics and Composites
- Language
- ISSN
- 2452-2139
A nacre-inspired composite with a lamellar architecture of polymethyl methacrylate (soft and tough phase) and alumina (stiff phase) was fabricated using a bidirectional freezing casting technique. The bulk fracture mechanics of the nacre-inspired composite has been reported along with detailed microstructural analysis. The mechanistic connection between microstructure and mechanical properties at the micro- and macro-scale was not fully understood. Herein we addressed this issue by quantifying phase-specific hardness, modulus, and residual stress at the micro-scale level and compared with the bulk mechanical response. A shear-lag model was applied to provide a quantitative understanding of the softening effects resulting from residual stress and the microstructure. Our findings demonstrated the potential of bioinspired synthetic architectures in providing a tuneable model system to investigate the underlying design principles of more complex hierarchical biological materials.