Self-stiffening of Synthetic Materials through Bone-inspired Mineralization
Loading...
Date
2022-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Advancements in synthetic material research have the potential to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and longevity of structures across a wide variety of applications. This is especially beneficial in situations where the structural weight is a primary concern, such as high-performance vehicles or aerospace structures. The material design of bone provides a naturally occurring example of an adaptive material, where the material properties change in response to an external loading stimulus. Recently, more studies have attempted to synthesize self-stiffening materials like bone, however current designs are not capable of handling most industrial applications. Improvements in the development of adaptive materials will lead to more weight-efficient structures and eventually self-designing structures. Thus, this research explored the development of a versatile metamaterial with self-stiffening properties on an order of magnitude useful for large-scale applications. The proposed material design is made from a piezoelectric polymer, organized in a lattice structure, submerged in a mineral solution. The material uses piezoelectricity as a mechano-transduction mechanism to convert the applied loading stimulus into electrical signals, inducing mineralization from the solution and locally stiffening the structure in areas of high stress. Multiple samples of the material were tested under consistent, cyclic loading, and the material's stiffness was measured over an extended period. Results show a minimal increase in overall stiffness, likely caused by low piezoelectricity in the samples. The results of this study could act as a proof of concept for future self-stiffening material designs. Further characterization of self-stiffening material designs will provide insight into different stiffening mechanisms that could be used to improve synthetic materials in the future.
Description
Keywords
Bioinspired Materials, Adaptive Materials, Bone Mineralization, Metamaterial Design, Piezoelectricity, Material Stiffness, Material Engineering, Structural Engineering