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

Nacreous architecture has a good combination of toughnessand modulus,which can be mimicked at the micron to submicron level using 3D printingto resolve the demand in numerous applications such as automobile,aerospace, and protection equipment. The present study examines thefabrication of two nacre structures, a nacre columnar (NC) and a nacresheet (NS), and a pristine structure via fused deposition modeling(FDM) and explores their mechanically superior stacking structure,mechanism of failure, crack propagation, and energy dissipation. Theexamination reveals that the nacre structure has significant mechanicalproperties compared to a neat sample. Additionally, NS has 112.098J/m impact resistance (9.37% improvement), 803.415 MPa elastic modulus(11.23% improvement), and 1563 MPa flexural modulus (10.85% improvement),which are all higher than those of the NC arrangement.

Automated summary

Nacreous architecture with a combination of toughness and modulus can be imitated through 3D printing at the micron to submicron level, meeting the demand in various applications. This study investigates the fabrication of two nacre structures (columnar and sheet) and a pristine structure using fused deposition modeling, exploring their superior mechanical properties, failure mechanism, crack propagation, and energy dissipation. The examination reveals that nacre structure has significant mechanical properties compared to a neat sample, with the sheet structure showing better impact resistance, elastic modulus, and flexural modulus than the columnar arrangement.