Analysis of competing toughening mechanisms in interlocked bio-inspired glass composites

doi:10.1007/s10483-026-3394-8

Abstract

Abstract:

Conventional ceramics and glasses exhibit high strength and stiffness; however, their inherent brittleness often leads to catastrophic fracture under mechanical loading. To overcome this limitation, natural materials such as nacre and sutures offer a compelling structural blueprint. Inspired by these natural architectures, a bio-inspired composite system that integrates a brick-and-mortar arrangement with a geometrically interlocked suture interface is developed. Uniaxial tensile experiments demonstrate that this hybrid design effectively combines nacre-like interfacial sliding with geometric interlocking, resulting in synergistic mechanical enhancements. To further elucidate the underlying deformation and failure mechanisms, comprehensive numerical simulations of the tensile behavior in glass-polymer bioinspired composites are carried out. Key micromechanical processes considered in the calculation include the frictional pull-out of glass interlocking structures, plastic deformation of the polymer matrix, and debonding at the composite interface. The failure of the composites is controlled by the competition between the geometric interlocking of the glass, the plastic deformation of the polymer matrix, and the interface debonding of the composite material. Increasing the interlocking angle and interfacial friction coefficient significantly elevates the tensile strength by promoting the frictional resistance during pull-out. A strong interfacial strength and a large failure displacement enhance the effective toughness of the interface, which promotes stable and progressive damage evolution, leading to improved overall mechanical properties. In contrast, the yield strength of the polymer matrix has no significant influence on the peak tensile strength in the present design configuration. It is also found that the interlocking with strong friction interaction and strong interface can activate significant energy-dissipation mechanisms, thereby significantly enhancing the toughness of the composites.

Key words: glass-polymer composite, geometric interlock, energy dissipation, toughening mechanism, bionic

2010 MSC Number:

O341

Jiani JIANG, Qi WANG, Shuiqiang ZHANG, Dongli SHI, Li DING, Bingbing AN, Dongsheng ZHANG. Analysis of competing toughening mechanisms in interlocked bio-inspired glass composites. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 2026, 47(6): 1241-1262.

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URL: https://www.amm.shu.edu.cn/EN/10.1007/s10483-026-3394-8

https://www.amm.shu.edu.cn/EN/Y2026/V47/I6/1241

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Mesh division	Local glass mesh size/mm	Global polymer mesh size/mm	Number of elements	Strength/MPa	Failure strain/%
Coarse mesh	0.03–0.3	0.4	13 157	3.55	2.78
Medium mesh	0.02–0.2	0.3	16 966	3.58	2.65
Fine mesh	0.015–0.15	0.2	29 311	3.31	2.78