A novel biomimetic approach to the design of high-performance ceramic-metal composites.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19828498.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1098/rsif.2009.0331 and PMC identifier 2874234.
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Abstract
The prospect of extending natural biological design to develop new synthetic ceramic-metal composite materials is examined. Using ice-templating of ceramic suspensions and subsequent metal infiltration, we demonstrate that the concept of ordered hierarchical design can be applied to create fine-scale laminated ceramic-metal (bulk) composites that are inexpensive, lightweight and display exceptional damage-tolerance properties. Specifically, Al(2)O(3)/Al-Si laminates with ceramic contents up to approximately 40 vol% and with lamellae thicknesses down to 10 microm were processed and characterized. These structures achieve an excellent fracture toughness of 40 MPa radicalm at a tensile strength of approximately 300 MPa. Salient toughening mechanisms are described together with further toughening strategies.
Medical subject headings
- Biomimetics
- Ceramics
- Metals