It has been demonstrated that a Cs(2)O-stabilized leucite porcelain was susceptible to a stress-induced phase transformation, but toughening was not observed.1 It was hypothesized that if Cs(2)O-stabilized leucite core particles were added to a cesium-free matrix porcelain, selected or designed to enhance the toughening mechanism, toughening would occur. A commercial porcelain (VP) and a synthe...

Biocomposites is a field that has gained much scientific attention due to the current substantial consumption of nonrenewable resources and the environmentally harmful disposal methods required for traditional polymer composites. Research on natural fiber reinforced polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) has gained considerable momentum over the past decade. There is little work on PHAs reinforced with u...

Due to a larger specific volume of the ferroelectric phase, the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric transition is believed to have an enhanced toughening effect against fracture. The toughening requires a non-recoverable transformation in the crack process zone. Complementary measurement of the crystal symmetry, dielectric constant, field-induced polarization, and Raman spectrum on ceramic Pb0.99Nb...

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is a hard biological composite found in the inside layer of many shells such as oyster or abalone. It is composed of microscopic ceramic tablets arranged in layers and tightly stacked to form a three-dimensional brick wall structure, where the mortar is a thin layer of biopolymers (20– 30 nm). Although mostly made of a brittle ceramic, the structure of nacr...

• Recycled carbon fibres were used for laminate interlayer toughening. The commingled rCFs/Polyphenylene-sulfid showed excellent toughening performance. mode-I and mode-II fracture energies of the significantly increased by 220% 105%, respectively. This study demonstrated an attractive application recycled fibres. Exploring routes effective use (rCFs) is critical to close loop in life cycle wor...