A toughening strategy of the glass composite with a laminated interlocking feature

  • Qi WANG ,
  • Li DING ,
  • Shuo WANG ,
  • Danping RUAN ,
  • Yuanzhi XU ,
  • Yanshu CHU ,
  • D. AROLA ,
  • Bingbing AN ,
  • Dongsheng ZHANG
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  • 1.School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
    2.Shanghai Institute of Aircraft Mechanics and Control, Shanghai 200092, China
    3.Minhang Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai 201199, China
    4.Department of Stomatology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
    5.Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U. S. A.
    6.Shaoxing Institute of Technology, Shanghai University, Shaoxing 312074, Zhejiang Province, China
Dongsheng ZHANG, E-mail: donzhang@staff.shu.edu.cn

Received date: 2025-02-28

  Revised date: 2025-05-18

  Online published: 2025-06-30

Supported by

Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12202257, 12072184, and 12002197)

Copyright

© Shanghai University 2025

Abstract

Inspired by brick-and-mortar architectures and suture interfaces, we propose a design of bioinspired nacre-like materials with interlocking sutures to improve the toughness of brittle materials. Laser-engraved glass interlockers are laminated with soft interlayers in a staggered arrangement, and the fundamental mechanical properties of the structure are investigated through experiments and numerical modeling. It is found that the tensile performance, such as the strength and toughness, is strongly affected by the interlocking angle and suture line spacing. The geometric interlocking originated from suture interfaces as well as tablet sliding arising from the staggered arrangement of interlockers cooperatively contribute to enhancing the strength and toughness of this bioinspired design. Additionally, the finite element modeling shows the interfacial failure and plastic deformation, revealing the interplay of the geometric interlocking mechanism and the sliding mechanism. This novel bioinspired design paves a new path for fabrication of structural materials combining high stiffness, high strength, and enhanced toughness.

Cite this article

Qi WANG , Li DING , Shuo WANG , Danping RUAN , Yuanzhi XU , Yanshu CHU , D. AROLA , Bingbing AN , Dongsheng ZHANG . A toughening strategy of the glass composite with a laminated interlocking feature[J]. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 2025 , 46(7) : 1315 -1330 . DOI: 10.1007/s10483-025-3270-9

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