Highly mineralized natural materials such as teeth or mollusk shells boast unusual combinations of stiffness, strength and toughness currently unmatched by engineering materials. While high mineral contents provide stiffness and hardness, these materials also contain weaker interfaces with intricate architectures, which can channel propagating cracks into toughening configurations. Here we repo...

This study examines the effects of different ZrB2 content on various mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of ZrB2/Y-TZP composite. Composites with ZrB2 content of up to 20 wt-% were particularly beneficial at the lower sintering temperature range by achieving greater densification and better hardness than Y-TZP monolith. In contrast to the trends estimated from rule of mixture, the...

This letter discusses the effect of bonding energy on the delamination resistance of laminate composites using a ductile interleaf. The mechanism and methods for interleaf toughening are reviewed and the improvement in delamination resistance discussed. The bonding energy between the ductile interleaf polymer and the fibers as well as between the ductile interleaf polymer and the brittle matrix...

Inspired by the nacre, we demonstrated the integrated ternary artificial nacre nanocomposites through synergistic toughening of graphene oxide (GO) and nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC). In addition, the covalent bonding was introduced between adjacent GO nanosheets. The synergistic toughening effects from building blocks of one-dimensional NFC and two-dimensional GO, interface interactions of hydr...

3D X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to study the effects of particle toughening within unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials subjected to impact damage, followed by ex situ CT of compression after impact (CAI) tests at incremental loads. A multi-scale approach utilizing synchrotron radiation CT and laminography was used to study the damage micro-mechanisms of im...