Title:
Mechanics of Tough Cortical Bone-Inspired 3D-Printed Architect Cement-Based Materials
Author(s):
Shashank Gupta
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_S23_ShashankGupta2.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
4/2/2023
Abstract:
The microstructure of living organisms in nature offers solutions for engineering a wide range of engineering materials. Multitudes of highly mineralized natural materials exhibit a combination of strength and toughness, often mutually exclusive material properties, owing to intricate microstructural architecture which triggers clever toughening mechanisms. Cortical bone is a tough biological material composed of elliptical tube-like osteons embedded in the organic matrix that are surrounded by weak interfaces known as cement lines. The cement lines provide a preferable microstructural path for crack growth, hence triggering in-plane crack deviation and crack deflection around osteons as toughening mechanisms. In this research, the tubular architected cement-based materials, inspired by cortical bone’s toughening mechanisms, has been engineered into design and fabrication by employing a hybrid (3D-printing the mold and casting) and layer-wise additive manufacturing process. Using experiments, analytical, and modeling approaches, we demonstrated that tubular architected cement-based material exhibited significantly improved fracture toughness, up to by 5 times higher, compared to the conventional monolithic brittle counterpart without sacrificing the strength. Crack deflection, crack-tube interaction, and multi-step crack initiation were observed and hypothesized as the toughening mechanisms responsible for the significantly enhanced fracture toughness, rising R-curves, and non-brittle behavior in a brittle construction material.