Bioinspired tough structures - Literature review Example

Their self-organization is also a contributing factor to the mechanical properties of biological materials together with the manner in which the structures are assembled at the molecular level. Nacre is one of the iridescent layer found in most mollusk shells. It has a high amount of mineral that makes it tough and also stiff. The toughness of nacre is three times harder than its mineral constituents. Nacre has thus become a biomimetic model due to this property since it is the only material with an enormous amplification of its toughness.

In this work, different bio-inspired materials shall be analyzed basing on the mechanical and structural properties. The development process of various types of artificial shell will also be analyzed. It is expected that Nacre mineral constituent are in microscopic polygonal tablets and has an ability to slide over one another when loaded under tension. This property has made nacre become a quasi-ductile material with significantly increased toughness and damage tolerance. Natural and biological materials can depict a considerable combination of stiffness, strength, toughness and even low weight which cannot be matched by artificial materials.

For this reason, researchers are turning to nature for different design of artificial structures. The high-performance structural materials produced by nature inspires the scientist in the natural design. Also their ability to combine the building blocks and even amplify its properties (Xia, 2015). Nacre currently serves as a sole biomimetic model in the new generation of composite materials. Nacre found in the mollusk shell serves to protect the soft body parts against the harsh environment and the predators.

These shells are highly mineralized tissues with at least 95% of it being mineral content. As a result, they have high stiffness and hardness.