Toughening mechanisms in multilayered materials
Sina Askarinejad (Worcester Polytechnic(WPI)), Nima Rahbar (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Materials Design and Biomimetic Material Concepts
Tue 9:00 - 10:30
CIT 227
Learning lessons from nature is the key element in the design of tough and light composites. Nacre shows the nature�s ability to combine strong and brittle mineral with tough organic material into a multilayered composite. In this study, mechanical behavior and toughening mechanisms of nacre-inspired multilayered materials are explored computationally and experimentally. In nacre�s structure tensile pillars, shear pillars and the roughness of the tablets play an important role in its overall mechanical performance. A micromechanics-based model for nacre is proposed to simulate the mechanical deformation and toughening mechanisms in the multilayered materials. Moreover, a 3D printing technique and a freeze casting method are used to create multilayered polymer/polymer and ceramic/polymer composites, respectively. The modeling results are compared with the experimental results for a range of multilayered materials.