Effects of loading rate on the mechanical behavior of a natural rigid composite

In situ Investigations of Failure Mechanisms of Silica Fibers from the Venus Flower Basket (Euplectella Aspergillum)

The fibers of the deep-sea sponge Euplectella aspergillum exhibit exceptional mechanical properties due to their unique layered structure at a micrometer length scale. In the present study, we utilize a correlative approach comprising of in situ tensile testing inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and post-failure fractography to precisely understand mechanisms through which layered architecture of fibers fracture and improves damage tolerance in tensile loading condition. The real-time observation of fibers in the present study confirms for the first time that the failure starts from the surface of fibers and proceeds to the center through successive layers. The concentric layers surrounding the central core sacrifice themselves and protect the central core through various toughening mechanisms like crack deflection, crack arrest, interface debonding, and fiber pullout. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Biological materials often exhibit multiscale hierarchical structures that can be incorporated into the design of next generation of engineering materials. The fibers of deep-sea sponge E. aspergillum possess core-shell like layered architecture. Our in situ study reveals astounding strategies by which this architecture delays the fracture of the fiber. The core-shell architecture of these fibers behaves like fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite, where the outer shells act as a matrix and the central core acts as a fiber. The outer shells take the environmental brunt and scarify themselves to protect the central core. The precise understanding of damage evolution presented here will help to design architected materials for load-bearing applications.

Multiscale Toughening Mechanisms in Biological Materials and Bioinspired Designs

Biological materials found in Nature such as nacre and bone are well recognized as light-weight, strong, and tough structural materials. The remarkable toughness and damage tolerance of such biological materials are conferred through hierarchical assembly of their multiscale (i.e., atomic- to macroscale) architectures and components. Herein, the toughening mechanisms of different organisms at multilength scales are identified and summarized: macromolecular deformation, chemical bond breakage, and biomineral crystal imperfections at the atomic scale; biopolymer fibril reconfiguration/deformation and biomineral nanoparticle/nanoplatelet/nanorod translation, and crack reorientation at the nanoscale; crack deflection and twisting by characteristic features such as tubules and lamellae at the microscale; and structure and morphology optimization at the macroscale. In addition, the actual loading conditions of the natural organisms are different, leading to energy dissipation occurring at different time scales. These toughening mechanisms are further illustrated by comparing the experimental results with computational modeling. Modeling methods at different length and time scales are reviewed. Examples of biomimetic designs that realize the multiscale toughening mechanisms in engineering materials are introduced. Indeed, there is still plenty of room mimicking the strong and tough biological designs at the multilength and time scale in Nature.

Mechanical energy dissipation in natural ceramic composites

Ceramics and glasses, in their monolithic forms, typically exhibit low fracture toughness values, but rigid natural marine ceramic and glass composites have shown remarkable resistance to mechanical failure. This has been observed in load-extension behavior by recognizing that the total area under the curve, notably the part beyond the yield point, often conveys substantial capacity to carry mechanical load. The mechanisms underlying the latter observations are proposed as defining factors for toughness that provide resistance to failure, or capability to dissipate energy, rather than fracture toughness. Such behavior is exhibited in the spicules of glass sponges and in mollusk shells. There are a number of similarities in the manner in which energy dissipation takes place in both sponges and mollusks. It was observed that crack diversion, a new form of crack bridging, creation of new surface area, and other important energy-dissipating mechanisms occur and aid in "toughening". Crack tolerance, key to energy dissipation in these natural composite materials, is assisted by promoting energy distribution over large volumes of loaded specimens by minor components of organic constituents that also serve important roles as adhesives. Viscoelastic deformation was a notable characteristic of the organic component. Some of these energy-dissipating modes and characteristics were found to be quite different from the toughening mechanisms that are utilized for more conventional structural composites. Complementary to those mechanisms found in rigid natural ceramic/organic composites, layered architectures and very thin organic layers played major roles in energy dissipation in these structures. It has been demonstrated in rigid natural marine composites that not only architecture, but also the mechanical behavior of the individual constituents, the nature of the interfaces, and interfacial bonding play important roles in energy dissipation. Additionally, the controlling effects of thin organic layers have been observed in other natural ceramic composite structures, such as teeth and bones, indicating that a variety of similar energy dissipating mechanisms in natural ceramic composites may operate as means to resist failure.

The Role of the Organic Component in the Mechanical Behavior of Biomineralized Composites

The roles of minor organic layers in influencing the mechanical response of such biomineralized composites as mollusk shells and sponge spicules have been investigated. The mechanisms whereby such minor constituents govern energy dissipation in rigid biomineralized structures are discussed, and a rationale for new modes of toughening that may relate more generally to families of ceramic- or glass/organic composites is offered. New results of simple torsional tests conducted on spicule fibers of a hexactinellid sponge, Euplectella aspergillum (Euplectella a.), compared with those done on melt-drawn glass fibers, showed an enhanced ability to resist failure in torsion, whereas the glass fibers did not. This behavior was attributed to the presence of a very thin adhesive viscoelastic phase between the siliceous layers of the spicule fibers, combined with the architectural and surface features of the spicule fiber.

Influence of moisture on the mechanical behavior of a natural composite

The effects of moisture on the mechanical properties of the spicules of the sponge Euplectella aspergillum have been investigated. Determinations were made with the aid of a dynamic mechanical analyzer in both the static and dynamic modes, as well as imaging of the failed surfaces with scanning electron microscopy. For comparison purposes, melt-grown glass fibers of similar diameters were also studied in both distilled water and seawater. That exposure reduced both the stiffness and strength of the spicules. In addition, the energy required to achieve complete failure decreased in moist environments. The data for the wet spicules in both aqueous media showed decreasing values of energy dissipated until catastrophic failure compared to dry samples. The strength of wet glass decreased when compared with the dry condition, and the elastic modulus was also reduced. The most marked influence of moisture was seen in the damping effects in moist spicule samples that were nearly an order of magnitude larger than the damping of dry spicules. This effect was attributed mainly to plasticization of the thin organic layers.

Role of biosilica in materials science: lessons from siliceous biological systems for structural composites

The unique mechanical response of spicules of Hexactinellid sponges, notably, Euplectella aspergillum, are reviewed and related to the structure, architecture, and failure modes of those natural rigid composite materials. In particular, exceptional levels of resilience, damping capacity, and the ability to dissipate mechanical energy prior to failure have been observed, all these properties greatly exceeding those of synthetic melt-fabricated glass. How these observations can be related to the design of new structural composites that are based on glass are described.