Imaging Inelastic Fracture Processes in Biomimetic Nanocomposites and Nacre by Laser Speckle for Better Toughness.

ABSTRACT: Mollusk nacre is a prototypical biological inorganic-organic composite that combines high toughness, stiffness, and strength by its brick-and-mortar microstructure, which has inspired several synthetic mimics. Its remarkable fracture toughness relies on inelastic deformations at the process zone at the crack tip that dissolve stress concentrations and stop cracks. The micrometer-scale structure allows resolving the size and shape of the process zone to understand the fracture processes. However, for better scalability, nacre-mimetic nanocomposites with aligned inorganic or graphene nanosheets are extensively pursued, to avoid the packing problems of mesoscale sheets like in nacre or slow in situ biomineralization. This calls for novel methods to explore the process zone of biomimetic nanoc

SUBMITTER: Verho T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5770684 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature