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Multiscale Experimental and Computational Investigation of Nature’s Design Principle of Hierarchies in Dental Enamel

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Biomedical Technology

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics ((LNACM,volume 84))

Abstract

Dental enamel possesses extraordinary mechanical properties due to a complex hierarchical and graded microstructure. In this study, multiscale experimental and computational approaches are employed and combined to study nature’s design principle of the hierarchical structure of bovine enamel for developing bio-inspired advanced ceramics with hierarchical microstructure. Micro-cantilever beam tests are carried out to characterize the mechanical properties from nano- to meso-scale experimentally. In order to understand the relationship between the hierarchical structure and the flaw-tolerance behavior of enamel, a 3D representative volume element (RVE) is used in a numerical analysis to study the deformation and damage process at two hierarchical levels. A continuum damage mechanics model coupled to hyperelasticity is developed for modeling the initiation and evolution of damage in the mineral fibers as well as protein matrix. Moreover, debonding of the interface between mineral fiber and protein is captured by a cohesive zone model. The effect of an initial flaw on the overall mechanical properties is analyzed at different hierarchical levels to understand the superior damage tolerance of dental enamel. Based on the experimental and computational investigation, the role of hierarchical levels on the multiscale design of structure in dental enamel is revealed for optimizing bio-inspired composites.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Fracture is induced in bending experiments in the tensile stress region of the specimen.

  2. 2.

    For more detailed information about specimen fabrication and testing methods, the reader is referred to [6, 7, 34,35,36,37].

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Acknowledgements

Partial financial support by the ACE-Centre (Institute of Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany) is gratefully acknowledged. Partial financial support by the German Research Foundation (DFG) via SFB 986 “M\(^3\)” (projects A5, A6) is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of General Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Songyun Ma

  2. Institute of Materials Research, Materials Mechanics/ACE-Centre, Helmholtz-Zentrum, Geesthacht, Germany

    Ingo Scheider

  3. Institute of Advanced Ceramics, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Swantje Bargmann

  4. Chair of Solid Mechanics, School of Mechanical Engineering and Safety Engineering, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany

    Ezgi D. Yilmaz & Gerold A. Schneider

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  1. Songyun Ma
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  2. Ingo Scheider
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  3. Ezgi D. Yilmaz
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  4. Gerold A. Schneider
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  5. Swantje Bargmann
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Correspondence to Songyun Ma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Continuum Mechanics, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Peter Wriggers

  2. Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik, Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Thomas Lenarz

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Ma, S., Scheider, I., Yilmaz, E.D., Schneider, G.A., Bargmann, S. (2018). Multiscale Experimental and Computational Investigation of Nature’s Design Principle of Hierarchies in Dental Enamel. In: Wriggers, P., Lenarz, T. (eds) Biomedical Technology. Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics, vol 84. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59548-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59548-1_15

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