Biological materials found in Nature such as nacre and bone are well recognized as light-weight, strong, and tough structural materials. The remarkable toughness and damage tolerance of such biological materials are conferred through hierarchical assembly of their multiscale (i.e., atomicto macroscale) architectures and components. Herein, the toughening mechanisms of different organisms at multilength scales are identified and summarized: macromolecular deformation, chemical bond breakage, and biomineral crystal imperfections at the atomic scale; biopolymer fibril reconfiguration/deformation and biomineral nanoparticle/nanoplatelet/ nanorod translation, and crack reorientation at the nanoscale; crack deflection and twisting by characteristic features such as tubules and lamellae at the microscale; and structure and morphology optimization at the macroscale. In addition, the actual loading conditions of the natural organisms are different, leading to energy dissipation occurring at different time scales. These toughening mechanisms are further illustrated by comparing the experimental results with computational modeling. Modeling methods at different length and time scales are reviewed. Examples of biomimetic designs that realize the multiscale toughening mechanisms in engineering materials are introduced. Indeed, there is still plenty of room mimicking the strong and tough biological designs at the multilength and time scale in Nature.

A fibrous herringbone-modified helicoidal architecture is identified within the exocuticle of an impact-resistant crustacean appendage. This previously unreported composite microstructure, which features highly textured apatite mineral templated by an alpha-chitin matrix, provides enhanced stress redistribution and energy absorption over the traditional helicoidal design under compressive loading. Nanoscale toughening mechanisms are also identified using high load nanoindentation and in-situ TEM picoindentation. A Sinusoidally-Architected Helicoidal BiocompositeBy Nicholas A. Yaraghi, Nicolás Guarín-Zapata, Lessa K. Grunenfelder, Eric Hintsala, Sanjit Bhowmick, Jon M. Hiller, Mark Betts, Edward L. Principe, Jae-Young Jung, Leigh Sheppard, Richard Wuhrer, Joanna McKittrick, Pablo D. Zavattieri Keywords: (Composites, Toughness, Impact, Biomineral, Ultrastructure) Submitted to 3 Biologically mineralized composites offer inspiration for the design of next generation structural materials due to their low density, high strength and toughness currently unmatched by engineering technologies. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Such properties are based on the ability for the organism to utilize structural organics and acidic proteins to guide and control the mineralization process to yield hierarchical architectures with well-defined compositional gradients.One notable example is the highly developed raptorial appendage, or dactyl, of the stomatopods, a group of aggressive marine crustaceans that use these structures for feeding upon hard-shelled and soft-bodied prey. [10][11][12][13][14] The dactyls of the "smashers", those that feed primarily on hard-shelled prey, (see Figure 1A) takes the form of a bulbous club ( Figure 1B), which is used to smash through mollusk shells, crab exoskeletons, and other tough mineralized structures with tremendous force and speed. [11][12][13][14][15][16] Achieving accelerations over 10,000g and reaching speeds of 23 m/s from rest, the dactyl strike is recognized as one of the fastest and most powerful impacting events observed in Nature. [11,12] The club is capable of delivering and subsequently enduring repetitive impact forces up to 1500 N and cavitation stresses without catastrophically failing, demonstrating its utility as an exceptionally damage-tolerant natural material.The origins of such a mechanical response lie in the structural design. Previous work identified the club as a multi-regional composite material containing an organic matrix composed of alpha-chitin fibers mineralized by amorphous forms of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate as well as crystalline apatite. [17,18] These investigations revealed mechanisms responsible for providing damage-tolerance and impact-resistance to the club, which were largely attributed to the interior of the club (periodic region), identified as the primary energy-absorbing layer. [17,18] The combination of soft polymeric nanofibers and stiffer mineral provides a periodic modulus mismatch leading to crack deflection, which in co...

No abstract

Crystalline Mg-based alloys with a distinct reduction in hydrogen evolution were prepared through both electrochemical and microstructural engineering of the constituent phases. The addition of Zn to Mg-Ca alloy modified the corrosion potentials of two constituent phases (Mg + Mg2Ca), which prevented the formation of a galvanic circuit and achieved a comparable corrosion rate to high purity Mg. Furthermore, effective grain refinement induced by the extrusion allowed the achievement of much lower corrosion rate than high purity Mg. Animal studies confirmed the large reduction in hydrogen evolution and revealed good tissue compatibility with increased bone deposition around the newly developed Mg alloy implants. Thus, high strength Mg-Ca-Zn alloys with medically acceptable corrosion rate were developed and showed great potential for use in a new generation of biodegradable implants.