Review on 3D Prototyping of Damage Tolerant Interdigitating Brick Arrays of Nacre

The complex hierarchal architecture of nacre has revolutionized the field of materials science and engineering due to its unparalleled properties of strength, stiffness, damage tolerance and toughness. The characteristics of interdigitating brick and mortar structure is attributed as a conspicuous architecture for its unique combination of properties, which is organized over multiple hierarchal level from macro to nanometer in size. Despite the development of adequate methodologies such as layer-by-layer and self assembly, imitating these physical and morphological intricacies in one step is still a complex and complicated phenomenon. Therefore, additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing can be a plausible candidate for manufacturing futuristic design concepts of composite, inspired from naturally graded functionality. In this review article, we have outlined the possibility of utilizing 3D printing technology and its challenges for bionic prototyping of nacre structure in artificial materials.