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Dissertation
Tuning damage in porous architectured materials inspired by osteonal bone
Authors: --- --- --- ---
Year: 2024 Publisher: Liège Université de Liège (ULiège)

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Abstract

The intricate relationship between the structure, the mechanical properties and the toughening mechanisms in biological materials needs to be understood in order to develop resilient bio-inspired synthetic materials with enhanced mechanical properties.
There are many examples of biological materials around the world (e.g., bone, nacre, glass sponge, teeth), that possess different mechanisms to mitigate crack propagation. Our focus is on how a porosity pattern can influence the interaction between a weak spot and a propagating crack. In our context, we draw inspiration from the osteonal bone, which employs multiple mechanisms, potentially including porosity, to protect its weak spot (i.e., the Haversian canal containing its vascularisation).
The thesis therefore combines finite element simulations and additive manufacturing to study crack propagation and damage evolution. The simulations focus on notch sensitivity, hole attraction and the overall mechanical performance of the materials. The results reveal a complex interplay between material parameters that govern the damage initiation and evolution. In addition, incorporating a linear porosity pattern allows, depending on the features of the pattern such as pore spacing, to program the cracking behaviour by guiding cracks along predetermined paths. Although one week interface allows to deviate the crack, it does not improve the overall toughness of the system, suggesting that more weak interfaces may be combined, as seen in numerous biological materials.
To translate the computational models into physical prototypes, an additive manufacturing technique is employed, specifically PolyJet 3D printing. This method enables precise control over the microstructure and porosity of the materials, facilitating the creation of samples that closely align with the modelled designs. This experimental part thus involves designing, manufacturing and testing these samples to observe the damage evolution and fracture patterns. The results appear to corroborate the computational results.
Overall, this interdisciplinary approach, combining bio-inspiration with numerical simulations and an additive manufacturing technique, holds promise for the development of novel damage-tolerant materials for biomedical and engineering applications, motivating further research in this field.


Book
An experimental study on adhesive or anti-adhesive, bio-inspired experimental nanomaterials
Authors: ---
ISBN: 8376560816 8376560824 3110399296 Year: 2013 Publisher: De Gruyter

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Abstract

Adhesive abilities of insects, spiders and reptiles have inspired researchers for a long time. All these organisms show outstanding performance, particularly for force, adhesion and climbing abilities, relative to their size and weight. Scientists have focused on the gecko's adhesive paw system and climbing abilities. Its adhesion mechanism has been an important topic of research for nearly 150 years. However, certain phenomena of geckos are still not fully understood and represent today the main challenge in several scientific discussions that aim to better understand their adhesive ability. The manuscript deals with the influence of surface roughness on the gecko's adhesion on the inverted surface of Poly(methyl meth-acrylate) (PMMA) and glass, of PMMA with different surface roughness, on the gecko's maximum normal adhesive force. In general, the adhesive structure and mechanism of an animal could be connected to the micro-structured roughness of natural substrata (e.g. plant surfaces) in the natural environment. This manuscript focuses on the nanometer scale, which is involved in everything from gecko spatulae to the waxy nanotubules of the lotus leaf, to the fibroin protein materials that constitute spider silks. In general, spider silks display superior mechanical properties, but only in the last few decades, researchers investigated various types of silks and evaluated their very different mechanical properties. The dragline and the flag silks (or radial and circumferential) of orb weaving spiders have been characterized in scientific literature while, to our knowledge, few studies have been conducted on bundles, which connect the cocoons of Meta menardi to the ceiling of caves.

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