title: On the mechanical behavior of bio-inspired materials with non-self-similar hierarchy.
abstract: Biological materials exhibiting non-self-similar hierarchical structures possess desirable mechanical properties. Motivated by their penetration resistance and fracture toughness, the mechanical performance of model materials with non-self-similar hierarchical structures was explored and the distinct advantages were identified. A numerical model was developed, based on microscopic observation of enamel prisms. Computational simulations showed that the systems with non-self-similar hierarchy displayed lateral expansion when subjected to longitudinal tensile loading, which reflected negative Poisson׳s ratio and potential for greater volume strain energies when compared with conventional materials with positive Poisson׳s ratio. Employing the non-self-similar hierarchical design, the capability of resilience can be improved. Additionally, the non-self-similar hierarchical structure exhibited larger toughness, resulting from the large pull-out work of the reinforcements. The findings of this study not only elucidate the deformation mechanisms of biological materials with non-self-similar hierarchical structure, but also provide a new path for bio-inspired materials design.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanics, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, PR China; Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China.
authors.forename: Bingbing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China.
authors.forename: Xinluo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanics, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, PR China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai 200072, PR China. Electronic address: donzhang@staff.shu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
keywords: Negative Poisson׳s ratio; Non-self-similar hierarchy; Pull-out work; Strain energy