A Review on Tough Soft Composites at Different Length Scales

Abstract

Soft composites are widely employed in industrial and biomedical fields, which often serve as load-bearing structural materials by virtue of a special combination of high strength, high toughness, and low flexural stiffness. Understanding the toughening mechanism of such composites is crucial for designing the next-generation soft materials. In this review, we give an overview of recent progress in soft composites, focusing on the design strategy, mechanical properties, toughening mechanisms, and relevant applications. Fundamental design strategies for soft composites that dissipate energy at different length scales are firstly described. By subsequently elucidating the synergistic effects of combining soft and hard phases, we show how a resulting composite can achieve unprecedented mechanical performance by optimizing the energy dissipation. Relevant toughening models are discussed to interpret the superior strength and fracture toughness of such soft composites. We also highlight relevant applications of these soft composites by taking advantage of their special mechanical responses.

Mechanical Properties of Smart Polypropylene Meshes: Effects of Mesh Architecture, Plasma Treatment, Thermosensitive Coating, and Sterilization Process

“…Images show that the rupture of such coated meshes is very similar to that typically reported for fiber-reinforced hydrogel composites. 46,47 On the other hand, comparison of the images recorded for the two meshes indicates that the deformation of the filaments increased with the amount of the grafted hydrogel (Figure 5a1−b1). Indeed, Figure 5b shows that the mesh with the highest surface density did not break at the point where the force was applied, which was attributed to the energy dissipation over the grafted hydrogel.…”

Micromechanics for Polymer Matrix Laminated Composites: A Literature Review of Fundamental Models, Advances and a Trend Analysis for Future Researches

“…This theory is based on the calculation of average internal stresses and strains in the matrix of a material containing precipitates using the concept of eigenstrains [4,70]. Then, the effective stiffness tensor for a two-phase composite can be described by: 𝐶=𝐶 +𝑐 (𝐶 −𝐶 )𝐴 (12) where, 𝐴 is a concentration tensor associated with the linear transformation between the strain tensor induced by homogeneous displacement boundary conditions and the average strain tensor for the dispersed phase [4,70].…”

“…In this research, the authors work with experimental data from specific literature and their own experiments in order to obtain mechanical properties of the continuos and dispersed phases. Therefore, applying linear and non-linear constitutive laws, solutions can be determined for the global and local systems of the studied laminate and conclude that modeling using the high-fidelity generalized method of cells is able to simulate the non-linear behavior of soft composites (low stiffness to bending ~10 0 MPa) [12].…”