Interfacial Mechanical Behavior in Nacre of Red Abalone and Other Shells: A Review

Abstract

Interfaces between nacreous tablets are crucial to the outstanding mechanical properties of nacre in natural shells. Excellent research has been conducted to probe the effect of interfaces on strength and toughness of nacre, providing critical guidelines for the design of human-made laminated composites. This article reviews recent studies on interfacial mechanical behavior of nacre in red abalone and other shells, including experimental methods, analytical and numerical modeling. The discussions focus on the mechanical properties of dry and hydrated nacreous microstructures. The review concludes with discussions on representative studies of nacre-like composites with interfaces tuned using multiple approaches, and provides an outlook on improving the performance of composites with better interfacial controls.

Special Issue on Engineering Bioinspired and Biological Materials

“…This is caused in part by the nacreous tablets' interfaces, which are composed of tiny mineral layers that are layered one on top of the other like bricks. The review by Du et al 18 sheds important light on how nacre's interfacial structure and material behavior contribute to its toughness and strength. Additionally, new varieties of composite materials can be created where the composition and characteristics of nacre serve as inspiration for these composites, especially through enhanced control of the interfacial properties.…”

Research Progress in Preparation, Properties and Applications of Biomimetic Organic-Inorganic Composites with “Brick-and-Mortar” Structure

“…However, in the existing reviews on relevant topics, most of them include BMOIs as a part of the review without specific targeting. Some research focuses on the mechanical behavior [17] and shear transfer efficiency [18] of nacre. Some consider it as a part of a bionic application review (such as acoustic materials [19], structural materials [20], thermal conductive materials [21], nanochannels [22], energy absorbing materials [23], fiber composites [24,25] and gels [26]).…”

3D-Printed Biomimetic Hierarchical Nacre Architecture: Fracture Behavior and Analysis

“…The overlap and core regions are significant in the NC because the stress experienced in both areas varies. In the NS, the core and overlap regions experience no distinction. , Nacre can achieve remarkable toughness and strength simultaneously, employed in diverse structural applications like aerospace and automotive, based on the loading direction and fracture mechanism. NC has well-defined deformation bands that are perpendicular to the loading direction of the columnar structure, and NS forms an unusual network of deformation bands at an angle to the main crack .…”

“…In the NS, the core and overlap regions experience no distinction. 11,12 Nacre can achieve remarkable toughness and strength simultaneously, employed in diverse structural applications like aerospace and automotive, based on the loading direction and fracture mechanism. NC has well-defined deformation bands that are perpendicular to the loading and EBM, Figure 1g) of the powder material to a desired shape is accomplished by a programed energy source or binder deposition to the platform surface.…”