Research ArticlesNo Access

Effect of Interfacial Properties on the Mechanical Behavior of Bone-Like Materials: A Numerical Study

Xingguo Li

Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai 200072, P. R. China

E-mail Address: lixingguo01@hotmail.com

Search for more papers by this author

Bingbing An

Department of Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, P. R. China

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai 200072, P. R. China

E-mail Address: anbingbing@shu.edu.cn

Search for more papers by this author

, and

Dongsheng Zhang

Department of Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, P. R. China

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai 200072, P. R. China

E-mail Address: donzhang@staff.shu.edu.cn

Corresponding author.

Search for more papers by this author

https://doi.org/10.1142/S1758825117500144Cited by:8 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

Interfacial behavior in the microstructure and the plastic deformation in the protein matrix influence the overall mechanical properties of biological hard tissues. A cohesive finite element model has been developed to investigate the inelastic mechanical properties of bone-like biocomposites consisting of hard mineral crystals embedded in soft biopolymer matrix. In this study, the complex interaction between plastic dissipation in the matrix and bonding properties of the interface between minerals and matrix is revealed, and the effect of such interaction on the toughening of bone-like biocomposites is identified. For the case of strong and intermediate interfaces, the toughness of biocomposites is controlled by the post yield behavior of biopolymer; the matrix with low strain hardening can undergo significant plastic deformation, thereby promoting enhanced fracture toughness of biocomposites. For the case of weak interfaces, the toughness of biocomposites is governed by the bonding property of the interface, and the post-yield behavior of biopolymer shows negligible effect on the toughness. The findings of this study help to direct the path for designing bioinspired materials with superior mechanical properties.

Keywords:

References

Achrai, B. and Wagner, H. D. [2013] “ Micro-structure and mechanical properties of the turtle carapace as a biological composite shield,” Acta Biomaterialia 9, 5890–5902. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
An, B., Wang, R. and Zhang, D. [2012] “ Role of crystal arrangement on the mechanical performance of enamel,” Acta Biomaterialia 8, 3784–3793. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
An, B., Zhao, X. and Zhang, D. [2014] “ On the mechanical behavior of bio-inspired materials with non-self-similar hierarchy,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 34, 8–17. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Bajaj, D. and Arola, D. D. [2009] “ On the R-curve behavior of human tooth enamel,” Biomaterials 30, 4037–4046. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Bechtle, S., Ang, S. F. and Schneider, G. A. [2010] “ On the mechanical properties of hierarchically structured biological materials,” Biomaterials 31, 6378–6385. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Best, S. M., Duer, M. J., Reid, D. G., Wise, E. R. and Zou, S. [2008] “ Towards a model of the mineral–organic interface in bone: NMR of the structure of synthetic glycosaminoglycan- and polyaspartate–calcium phosphate composites,” Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 46, 323–329. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Buehler, M. J. [2006] “ Atomistic and continuum modeling of mechanical properties of collagen: Elasticity, fracture, and self-assembly,” Journal of Material Research 21(8), 1947–1961. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Buehler, M. J. [2007] “ Molecular nanomechanics of nascent bone: Fibrillar toughening by mineralization,” Nanotechnology 18, 291502. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Chai, H. [2014] “ On the mechanical properties of tooth enamel under spherical indentation,” Acta Biomaterialia 10, 4852–4860. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Cornec, A., Scheider, I. and Schwalbe, K. [2003] “ On the practical application of the cohesive model,” Engineering Fracture Mechanics 70, 1963–1987. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Dubey, D. K. and Tomar, V. [2009a] “ Role of the nanoscale interfacial arrangement in mechanical strength of tropocollagen–hydroxyapatite based hard biomaterials,” Acta Biomaterialia 5, 2704–2716. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Dubey, D. K. and Tomar, V. [2009b] “ The effect of tensile and compressive loading on the hierarchical strength of idealized tropocollagen–hydroxyapatite biomaterials as a function of the chemical environment,” Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 21, 205103. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Dubey, D. K. and Tomar, V. [2010] “ Role of molecular level interfacial forces in hard biomaterial mechanics: A review,” Annals of Biomedical Engineering 38, 2040–2055. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Fantner, G. E., Hassenkam, T., Kindt, J. H., Weaver, J. C., Birkedal, H., Pechenik, L., Cutroni, J. A., Cidade, G. A. G., Stucky, G. D., Morse, D. E. and Hansma, P. K. [2005] “ Sacrificial bonds and hidden length dissipate energy as mineralized fibrils separate during bone fracture,” Nature Materials 4, 612–616. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Gao, H. [2006] “ Application of fracture mechanics concepts to hierarchical biomechanics of bone and bon-like materials,” International Journal of Fracture 138, 101–137. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Guo, T., Wang, L., Zhang, A. and Cai T. [2005] “ Effects of nano calcium carbonate modified by a lanthanum compound on the properties of polypropylene,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science 97, 1154–1160. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Gupta, H. S., Krauss, S., Kerschnitzki, M., Karunaratne A., Dunlop J. W. C., Barber, A. H., Boesecke, P., Funari, S. S. and Fratzl, P. [2013] “ Intrafibrillar plasticity through mineral/collagen sliding is the dominant mechanism for the extreme toughness of antler bone,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 28, 366–382. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Gupta, H. S., Seto, J., Wagermaier, W., Zaslansky, P., Boesecke, P. and Fratzl, P. [2006] “ Cooperative deformation of mineral and collagen in bone at the nanoscale,” Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences 103, 17741–17746. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Hamed, E. and Jasiuk, I. [2013] “ Multiscale damage and strength of lamellar bone modeled by cohesive finite elements,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 28, 94–110. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Han, L., Wang, L., Song, J., Boyce, M. C. and Ortiz, C. [2011] “ Direct quantification of the mechanical anisotropy and fracture of an individual exoskeleton layer via uniaxial compression of micropillars,” Nano Letters 11(9), 3868–3874. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
He, M. and Xin, K. [2011] “ Separation work analysis of cohesive law and consistently coupled cohesive law,” Applied Mathematics and Mechanics 32(11), 1437–1446. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Jackson, A., Vincent, J. and Turner, R. [1988] “ The mechanical design of nacre,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 234(1277), 415–440. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Jäger, I. and Fratzl, P. [2000] “ Mineralized collagen fibrils: A mechanical model with a staggered arrangement of mineral particles,” Biophysical Journal 79(4), 1737–1746. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Ji, B. H. and Gao, H. J. [2004a] “ A study of fracture mechanisms in biological nano-composites via the virtual internal bond model,” Materials Science and Engineering A 366, 96–103. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Ji, B. H. and Gao, H. J. [2004b] “ Mechanical properties of nanostructure of biological materials,” Journal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids 52, 1963–1990. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Ji, B. H. [2008] “ A study of the interface strength between protein and mineral in biological materials,” Journal of Biomechanics 41, 259–266. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Kamat, S., Su, X., Ballarini, R. and Heuer, A. H. [2000] “ Structural basis for the fracture toughness of the shell of the conch Strombus gigas,” Nature 405, 1036–1040. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Kikuchi, M., Itoh, S., Ichinose, S., Shinomiya, K. and Tanaka, J. [2001] “ Self-organization mechanism in a bone-like hydroxyapatite/collagen nanocomposite synthesized in vitro and its biological reaction in vivo,” Biomaterials 22, 1705–1711. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Launey, M. E., Buehler, M. J. and Ritchie, R. O. [2010] “ On the mechanistic origins of toughness in bone,” Annual Review Materials Research 40, 25–53. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Lekhnitskii, S. G. [1981] Theory of Elasticity of an Anisotropic Body (MIR publishers, Moscow). Google Scholar
Li, S. [2008] “ Boundary conditions for unit cells from periodic microstructures and their implications,” Composites Science and Technology 68, 1962–1974. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Li, X., An, B. and Zhang, D. [2015] “ Determination of elastic and plastic mechanical properties of dentin based on experimental and numerical studies,” Applied Mathematics and Mechanics 36(10), 1347–1358. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Li, X. and Huang, Z. [2009] “ Unveiling the formation mechanism of pseudo-single-crystal aragonite platelets in nacre,” Physical Review Letters 102, 075502. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Li, Y., Ortiz, C. and Boyce, M. C. [2012] “ Bioinspired, mechanical, deterministic fractal model for hierarchical suture joints,” Physical Review E 85, 031901. Google Scholar
Lu, N., Suo, Z. and Vlassak, J. J. [2010] “ The effect of film thickness on the failure strain of polymer-supported metal films,” Acta Materialia 58, 1679–1687. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Luo, Q., Nakade, R., Dong, X., Rong, Q. and Wang, X. [2011] “ Effect of mineral–collagen interfacial behavior on the microdamage progression in bone using a probabilistic cohesive finite element model,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 4, 943–952. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Nair, A. K., Gautieri, A., Chang, S. W. and Buehler, M. J. [2013] “ Molecular mechanics of mineralized collagen fibrils in bone,” Nature Communications 4, 1724. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Needleman, A. [1987] “ A continuum model for void nucleation by inclusion debonding,” Journal of Applied Mechanics 54(3), 525–531. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Purohit, P. K., Litvinov, R. I., Brown, A., Discher, D. E. and Weisel, J. W. [2011] “ Protein unfolding accounts for the unusual mechanical behavior of fibrin networks,” Acta Biomaterialia 7, 2374–2383. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Rho, J. Y., Kuhn-Spearing, L. and Zioupos, P. [1998] “ Mechanical properties and the hierarchical structure of bone,” Medical Engineering & Physics 20, 92–102. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Ritchie, R. O. [2011] “ The conflicts between strength and toughness,” Nature materials 10, 817–822. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Ruppel, M. E., Miller, L. M. and Burr, D. B. [2008] “ The effect of the microscopic and nanoscale structure on bone fragility,” Osteoporosis international 19, 1251–1265. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Shenoy, V. and Sharma, A. [2002] “ Dewetting of glassy polymer films,” Physical Review Letters 88, 236101. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Siegmund, T., Allen, M. R. and Burr, D. B. [2008] “ Failure of mineralized collagen fibrils: Modeling the role of collagen cross-linking,” Journal of Biomechanics 41, 1427–1435. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Spears, I. R. [1997] “ A three-dimensional finite-element model of prismatic enamel: A re-appraisal of the data on the Young’s modulus of enamel,” Journal of Dental Research 76, 1690–1697. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Tvergaard, V. and Hutchinson, J. W. [1992] “ The relation between crack growth resistance and fracture process parameters in elastic–plastic solids,” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 40, 1377–1397. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Wang, R. Z., Suo, Z., Evans, A. G., Yao, N. and Aksay, I. A. [2001] “ Deformation mechanisms in nacre,” Journal of Materials Research 16, 2485–2493. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Warshawsky, H. [1989] “ Organization of crystals in enamel,” The Anatomical Record 224, 242–262. Crossref, Google Scholar
Wei, X., Naraghi, M. and Espinosa, H. D. [2012] “ Optimal length scales emerging from shear load transfer in natural materials: Application to carbon-based nanocomposite design,” ACS Nano 6(3), 2333–2344. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Weiner, S. and Wagner, H. D. [1998] “ The material bone: Structure-mechanical function relations,” Annual Review of Materials Science 28, 271–298. Crossref, Google Scholar
Wu, Y. and Zhang, K. [2006] “ Crack propagation in polycrystalline elastic-viscoplastic materials using cohesive zone model,” Applied Mathematics and Mechanics 27(4), 509–518. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Xie, Z. and Yao, H. [2014] “ Crack deflection and flaw tolerance in “brick-and-mortar” structured composites,” International Journal of Applied Mechanics 6(2), 1450017. Link, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Yang, W., Gludovatz, B., Zimmermann, E. A., Bale, H. A., Ritchie, R. O. and Meyers, M. A. [2013] “ Structure and fracture resistance of alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) armored fish scales,” Acta Biomaterialia 9, 5876–5889. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Yao, H. and Gao, H. [2007] “ Multi-scale cohesive laws in hierarchical materials,” International Journal of Solids and Structures 44, 8177–8193. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Yao, H., Song, Z., Xu, Z. and Gao, H. [2013] “ Cracks fail to intensify stress in nacreous composites,” Composites Science and Technology 81, 24–29. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Zhang, N. and Chen, Y. [2012] “ Molecular origin of the sawtooth behavior and the toughness of nacre,” Materials Science and Engineering: C 32(6), 1542–1547. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Zhang, N., Yang, S., Xiong, L., Hong, Y. and Chen, Y. [2016] “ Nanoscale toughening mechanism of nacre tablet,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 53, 200–209. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., Yao, H., Ortiz, C., Xu, J. and Dao, M. [2012a] “ Bio-inspired interfacial strengthening strategy through geometrically interlocking designs,” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 15, 70–77. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Zhang, Z., Zhang, T., Zhang, Y. W., Kim, K. S. and Gao, H. [2012b] “ Strain-controlled switching of hierarchically wrinkled surfaces between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity,” Langmuir 28, 2753–2760. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar
Zhang, Z., Zhang, Y. and Gao, H. [2011] “ On optimal hierarchy of load-bearing biological materials,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278, 519–525. Crossref, Web of Science, Google Scholar