Abstract
Most biological composite materials achieve higher toughness without sacrificing stiffness and strength. Interrogating how Nature employs these strategies and decoding the structure-function relationship of these materials is a challenging task that requires knowledge about the actual loading and environmental conditions of the material in their natural habitat, as well as a complete characterization of their constituents and hierarchical ultrastructure. In this work, we present an experimental framework that combines in situ and ex situ fracture testing with digital image correlation to allow the identification and quantification of toughening mechanisms involved during fracture of natural systems. We present this methodology in two case studies: (1) pangolin scales, and (2) nacre from seashells. We envision that the outcome of this research will pave the way for more bio-inspired design systems that can subsequently shed light on how Nature has evolved materials to optimize mechanical properties.
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© 2019 The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.
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Espinosa, H.D. (2019). Identification of Deformation Mechanisms in Biomaterials Through AFM and Digital Image Correlation. In: Lamberti, L., Lin, MT., Furlong, C., Sciammarella, C., Reu, P., Sutton, M. (eds) Advancement of Optical Methods & Digital Image Correlation in Experimental Mechanics, Volume 3. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97481-1_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97481-1_12
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