Overcoming brittleness through bio-inspiration and microarchitecture

Abstract eng:
Architectured materials contain specific structural features which are larger than what is typically considered microstructure but smaller than the size of the component. More specifically dense architectured materials are made of stiff blocks which can slide, rotate, separate or interlock collectively, provide a wealth of tunable mechanisms mediated by the interfaces between the blocks. This strategy is also observed in hard biological materials such as bone, teeth or mollusk shells, which now serve as models for new materials with superior properties. To explore these concepts in synthetic materials we used a three-dimensional laser-engraver to carve arrays of microcracks with well-defined geometries and toughness within the bulk of glass. This bio-inspired glass not only shows how the powerful toughening mechanisms observed in nature can be harnessed in synthetic materials, but it also shows a pathways to making bio-inspired composite materials by “fabricating” weak interfaces within stiff materials.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket