Compression fatigue properties of bioinspired nacre-like composites compared with natural nacre: Effects of architectures and orientations

Bioinspired architectures mimicking natural nacre demonstrate a remarkable efficiency in toughening materials, yet their fatigue properties remain to be explored, specifically regarding the effects of architectural types and orientations. Here the compression-compression fatigue properties of bioinspired ceramic-polymer composites with nacre-like lamellar and brick-and-mortar architectures along with natural nacre were investigated by cyclically loading along different orientations. The fatigue performance and damage mechanisms of these materials were revealed to be closely related to their architectural types and orientations. The nacre-like architectures played a role in hindering the propagation of fatigue cracks by inducing crack deflection, promoting the contact and mutual friction between cracking faces, and via the plastic deformation of polymer phase. This work may provide experimental basis for the application of nacre-like composites and give insights for designing new bioinspired fatigue-resistant materials.