Bone‐Inspired Materials by Design: Toughness Amplification Observed Using 3D Printing and Testing

Abstract

Inspired by the fact that nature provides multifunctional composites by using universal building blocks, the authors design and test synthetic composites with a pattern inspired by the microstructure of cortical bone. Using a high-resolution multimaterial 3D printer, the authors are able to manufacture samples and investigate their fracture behavior in mechanical tests. The authors' results demonstrate that the bone-inspired design is critical for toughness amplification and balance with material strength. The failure modes of the authors' synthetic composites show similarities with the cortical bone, like crack deflection and branching, constrained microcracking, and fibril bridging. The authors' results confirm that our design is eligible to reproduce the fracture and toughening mechanism of bone.

Integration of graphene in poly(lactic) acid by 3D printing to develop creep and wear‐resistant hierarchical nanocomposites

“…Three‐dimensional printing has proven to overcome many of the limitations and complexities that conventional procedures pose in the design of complex geometries, such as the limited control in the customization of porosity size distribution . A few studies have demonstrated the capabilities of 3D printing in the manufacturing of bone‐like structure, combining good mechanical properties and low density. An interconnected porosity in the printed scaffolds will affect the mechanical properties of the structure but will provide the optimal environment to promote cell adhesion and proliferation .…”

Energy‐Dissipative Matrices Enable Synergistic Toughening in Fiber Reinforced Soft Composites

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(1 of 10) 1605350 materials exhibiting both excellent loadbearing capacity and fracture resistance, as can be observed from both hard tissues [3][4][5][6][7] (e.g., nacre and bone) and soft tissues (e.g., ligament and tendon), [8][9][10] by combining rigid, brittle components (either inorganic or organic) and soft, organic components into composite materials. Most of these natural materials have highly complex hierarchical architectures existing over multiple length scales, which results in composite properties that far exceed what could be expected from a simple combination of the individual components.

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Phase field modeling of crack propagation under combined shear and tensile loading with hybrid formulation

“…Having tested the crack propagation in homogeneous specimens, we now consider the fracture of heterogeneous materials composed of two constituent materials with very high mismatch in the elastic moduli, such as those occurring in biomaterials or engineering composites reinforced with high strength and high modulus fibers. We first consider a specimen designed to mimic the microstructure of cortical bone, following previous studies [27,28]. It is known that a high modulus mismatch in cortical bone structure causes crack deflection [27,28], which increases the toughness modulus of the material.…”