Related papers: Enhanced fault-tolerance in biomimetic hierarchica…
Multi-phase materials, such as composite materials, exhibit multiple competing failure mechanisms during the growth of a macroscopic defect. For the simulation of the overall fracture process in such materials, we develop a two-phase spring…
Composites with high strength and high fracture resistance are desirable for structural and protective applications. Most composites, however, suffer from poor damage tolerance and are prone to unpredictable fractures. Understanding the…
Catastrophic failure of materials and structures due to unstable crack growth could be prevented if facture toughness could be enhanced at will through structural design, but how can this be possible if fracture toughness is a material…
We propose a machine learning approach to address a key challenge in materials science: predicting how fractures propagate in brittle materials under stress, and how these materials ultimately fail. Our methods use deep learning and train…
The precise mechanisms underlying the failure of multi-phase materials may be strongly dependent on the material's microstructural morphology. Micromechanical modeling has provided much insight into this dependence, but uncertainties remain…
To overcome the brittleness limitation of ceramics, various toughening mechanisms have been proposed. Some of the most remarkable, especially for oxides, include the tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation leading to crack shielding…
Multiscale techniques have been widely shown to potentially overcome the limitation of homogenization schemes in representing the microscopic failure mechanisms in heterogeneous media as well as their influence on their structural response…
Hierarchically designed mechanical metamaterials involve nested levels of structural organization, mimicking natural structures (such as bones, wood, and bird feathers) to create advanced functional materials. Compositional hierarchy, a…
Many stiff biological materials exhibiting outstanding compressive strength/weight ratio are characterized by high porosity, spanning different size-scales, typical examples being bone and wood. A successful bio-mimicking of these materials…
Quasi-brittle materials endowed with (statistically) self-similar hierarcical microstructures show distinct failure patterns that deviate from the standard scenario of damage accumulation followed by crack nucleation-and-growth. Here we…
A fiber bundle model in $(1+1)$-dimensions for the breaking of fibrous composite matrix is introduced. The model consists of $N$ parallel fibers fixed in two plates. When one of the plates is pulled in the direction parallel to the fibers,…
Polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibrous networks have gained substantial interest across various engineering and scientific disciplines, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and filtration, due to their unique and multifunctional…
This article describes the application of recently introduced complex networks concepts and methods to the characterization and analysis of cortical bone structure. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the system of channels underlying bone…
Overlapping fish-scale architectures are among nature's most distinctive surface adaptations, combining protection, contact regulation, hydrodynamics, optical and directional mechanical response within a thin textured integument. Here, we…
Throughout biology, hierarchy is a recurrent theme in the geometry of structures where strength is achieved with minimal use of material. Acting over vast timescales, evolution has brought about beautiful solutions to problems of…
Self-assembly in the laboratory can now yield `information-rich' nanostructures in which each component is of a distinct type and has a defined spatial position. Ensuring the thermodynamic stability of such structures requires…
We study experimentally the fracture mechanisms of a model cohesive granular medium consisting of glass beads held together by solidified polymer bridges. The elastic response of this material can be controlled by changing the cross-linking…
The macroscopic properties of materials that we observe and exploit in engineering application result from complex interactions between physics at multiple length and time scales: electronic, atomistic, defects, domains etc. Multiscale…
The principle of hierarchical design is a prominent theme in many natural systems where mechanical efficiency is of importance. Here we establish the properties of a particular hierarchical structure, showing that high mechanical efficiency…
Soft materials capable of large inelastic deformation play an essential role in high-performance nacre-inspired architectured materials with a combination of stiffness, strength and toughness. The rigid "building blocks" made from glass or…