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Cartilage is a connective tissue that covers the surfaces of bones in joints and provides a smooth gliding surface for movement. It is characterized by specific biophysical properties that allow it to withstand compressive loads, distribute…
Materials that are strong, ultra-light weight and tough are in demand for a range of applications, requiring architectures and components carefully designed from the micrometer down to nanometer scales. Nacre-a structure found in many…
The conflict between stiffness and toughness is a fundamental problem in engineering materials design. However, the systematic discovery of microstructured composites with optimal stiffness-toughness trade-offs has never been demonstrated,…
In this paper, we study the response of 2D framed structures made of rectangular cells, to the sudden removal of columns. We employ a simulation algorithm based on the Discrete Element Method, where the structural elements are represented…
Hexagonal layered crystalline materials, such as graphene, boron nitride, tungsten sulfate, and so on, have attracted enormous attentions, due to their unique combination of atomistic structures and superior thermal, mechanical, and…
We develop the theory of the coupling between in-plane order and out-of-plane geometry in twisted, two-dimensionally ordered filament bundles based on the non-linear continuum elasticity theory of columnar materials. We show that twisted…
We study theoretically the shapes of biological tubes affected by various pathologies. When epithelial cells grow at an uncontrolled rate, the negative tension produced by their division provokes a buckling instability. Several shapes are…
Unlike most synthetic materials, biological materials often stiffen as they are deformed. This nonlinear elastic response, critical for the physiological function of some tissues, has been documented since at least the 19th century, but the…
Bio-inspired composites are a great promise for mimicking the extraordinary and highly efficient properties of natural materials. Recent developments in voxel-by-voxel 3D printing have enabled extreme levels of control over the material…
Damage gradient models approximate fracture mechanics using a modulation of the material stiffness. To this aim a single scalar field, the damage, is used to degrade as a whole the elastic energy. If applied to the structural models of…
Crack detection is of great significance for monitoring the integrity and well-being of the infrastructure such as bridges and underground pipelines, which are harsh environments for people to access. In recent years, computer vision…
Crack growth is the basic mechanism leading to the failure of brittle materials. Engineering addresses this problem within the framework of continuum mechanics, which links deterministically the crack motion to the applied loading. Such an…
Many biological materials consist of sparse networks of disordered fibres, embedded in a soft elastic matrix. The interplay between rigid and soft elements in such composite networks leads to mechanical properties that can go far beyond the…
To respond to the increasing need for bone repair strategies, various types of biomaterials have been developed. Among those, calcium phosphate ceramics (CPCs) are promising since they possess a chemical composition similar to that of…
This paper presents a class of 3D single-scale isotropic materials with tunable stiffness and buckling strength obtained via topology optimization and subsequent shape optimization. Compared to stiffness-optimal closed-cell plate material,…
In layered materials, a common mode of deformation involves buckling of the layers under tensile deformation in the direction perpendicular to the layers. The instability mechanism, which operates in elastic materials from geological to…
Enhancing the fracture toughness of diamond while preserving its hardness is a significant challenge. Traditional toughening strategies have primarily focused on modulating the internal microstructural units of diamonds, including…
Tearing a thin sheet by forcing a rigid object through it leads to complex crack morphologies; a single oscillatory crack arises when a tool is driven laterally through a brittle sheet, while two diverging cracks and a series of…
Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibres are firmly established as a new high-performance fibre, but their tensile mechanical properties remain a relatively small fraction of those of the constituent CNTs. Clear structure-property relations and…
The interplay between cytoskeletal architecture and the nonlinearity of the interactions due to bucklable filaments plays a key role in modulating the cell's mechanical stability and affecting its structural rearrangements. We study a model…