Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-2n9c9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T02:31:03.374Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Failure mode transition in natural mineralizedcomposites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Reza Rabiei,
Sacheen Bekah and
Francois Barthelat
Reza Rabiei
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6 Canada
Sacheen Bekah
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6 Canada
Francois Barthelat
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6 Canada
Get access

Abstract

Mineralized biological materials such as nacre and bone achieve remarkablecombinations of stiffness and toughness through staggered arrangements ofstiff components bonded by softer materials. These natural composites aretherefore substantial source of inspiration for emerging syntheticmaterials. In order to gain new insights into structureperformancerelationships of these staggered structures, nacres from four species werecompared in terms of fracture toughness and damage propagation pattern.Fracture tests revealed that all nacres display rising crack resistancecurves, but to different extents. Using in-situ optical and atomic forcemicroscopy, two distinct patterns of damage propagation were identified incolumnar and sheet nacre respectively. These two different patterns werefurther confirmed by means of large scale numerical models of staggeredstructures. Similar mechanisms possibly operate at the smallest scales ofthe microstructure of bone.

Keywords

microstructurefracturebiological

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

1. Wegst, U.G.K. and Ashby, M.F., The mechanical efficiency of natural materials . Philosophical Magazine, 2004. 84 (21): p. 2167–2181.Google Scholar
2. Barthelat, F., Biomimetics for next generation materials . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society a-Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2007. 365: p. 2907–2919.Google Scholar
3. Currey, J.D., Mechanical Properties of Mother of Pearl in Tension . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 1977. 196 (1125): p. 443–463.Google Scholar
4. Barthelat, F., et al. ., On the mechanics of mother-of-pearl: A key feature in the material hierarchical structure . Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2007. 55 (2): p. 225–444.Google Scholar
5. Wang, R.Z., et al. ., Deformation mechanisms in nacre . Journal of Materials Research, 2001. 16: p. 2485–2493.10.1557/JMR.2001.0340Google Scholar
6. Barthelat, F. and Espinosa, H.D., An Experimental Investigation of Deformation and Fracture of Nacre-Mother of Pearl . Experimental Mechanics, 2007. 47 (3): p. 311–324.Google Scholar
7. Deville, S., et al. ., Freezing as a path to build complex composites . Science, 2006. 311 (5760): p. 515–518.Google Scholar
8. Bonderer, L.J., Studart, A.R., and Gauckler, L.J., Bioinspired design and assembly of platelet reinforced polymer films . Science, 2008. 319 (5866): p. 1069–1073.Google Scholar
9. Gao, H.J., Application of fracture mechanics concepts to hierarchical biomechanics of bone and bone-like materials . International Journal of Fracture, 2006. 138 (1–4): p. 101–137.10.1007/s10704-006-7156-4Google Scholar
10. Buehler, M.J., and Yung, Y.C., Deformation and failure of protein materials in physiologically extreme conditions and disease . Nature Materials, 2009. 8 (3): p. 175–188.Google Scholar
11. Gupta, H.S., et al. ., Cooperative deformation of mineral and collagen in bone at the nanoscale . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006. 103 (47): p. 17741–17746.Google Scholar
12. ASTM, ASTM standard E 1820-01“Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fracture Toughness”. 2004.Google Scholar
13. Saxena, A., Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics. 1998: CRC Press.Google Scholar
14. Bruet, B.J.F., et al. ., Nanoscale morphology and indentation of individual nacre tablets from the gastropod mollusc Trochus niloticus . Journal of Materials Research, 2005. 20 (9): p. 2400–2419.Google Scholar
15. Barthelat, F., et al. ., Mechanical properties of nacre constituents and their impact on mechanical performance . Journal of Materials Research, 2006. 21 (8): p. 1977–1986.Google Scholar