Natural structural materials are built at ambient temperature from a fairly limited selection of components. They usually comprise hard and soft phases arranged in complex hierarchical architectures, with characteristic dimensions spanning from the nanoscale to the macroscale. The resulting materials are lightweight and often display unique combinations of strength and toughness, but have proven difficult to mimic synthetically. Here, we review the common design motifs of a range of natural structural materials, and discuss the difficulties associated with the design and fabrication of synthetic structures that mimic the structural and mechanical characteristics of their natural counterparts.

Bioinspired structural materials

A balanced mechanics-materials approach and coverage of the latest developments in biomaterials and electronic materials, the new edition of this popular text is the most thorough and modern book available for upper-level undergraduate courses on the mechanical behavior of materials To ensure that the student gains a thorough understanding the authors present the fundamental mechanisms that operate at micro- and nano-meter level across a wide-range of materials, in a way that is mathematically simple and requires no extensive knowledge of materials This integrated approach provides a conceptual presentation that shows how the microstructure of a material controls its mechanical behavior, and this is reinforced through extensive use of micrographs and illustrations New worked examples and exercises help the student test their understanding Further resources for this title, including lecture slides of select illustrations and solutions for exercises, are available online at wwwcambridgeorg/97800521866758

/pdf/mechanical-behavior-of-materials-244bo22qlo.pdf

Mechanical Behavior of Materials

There is a special reason for reviewing this book at this time: it is the 50th edition of a compendium that is known and used frequently in most chemical and physical laboratories in many parts of the world. Surely, a publication that has been published for 56 years, withstanding the vagaries of science in this century, must have had something to offer. There is another reason: while the book is a standard fixture in most chemical and physical laboratories, including those in medical centers, it is not as frequently seen in the laboratories of physician's offices (those either in solo or group practice). I believe that the Handbook can be useful in those laboratories. One of the reasons, among others, is that the various basic items of information it offers may be helpful in new tests, either physical or chemical, which are continuously being published. The basic information may relate

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

Physical Review B

Macroporous ceramics with pore sizes from 400 nm to 4 mm and porosity within the range 20%–97% have been produced for a number of well-established and emerging applications, such as molten metal filtration, catalysis, refractory insulation, and hot gas filtration. These applications take advantage of the unique properties achieved through the incorporation of macropores into solid ceramics. In this article, we review the main processing routes that can be used for the fabrication of macroporous ceramics with tailored microstructure and chemical composition. Emphasis is given to versatile and simple approaches that allow one to control the microstructural features that ultimately determine the properties of the macroporous material. Replica, sacrificial template, and direct foaming techniques are described and compared in terms of microstructures and mechanical properties that can be achieved. Finally, directions to future investigations on the processing of macroporous ceramics are proposed.

/pdf/processing-routes-to-macroporous-ceramics-a-review-1urld578zq.pdf

Processing Routes to Macroporous Ceramics: A Review

Fundamentals of functionally graded materials

Geometrically necessary dislocations and strain-gradient plasticity: a few critical issues

Processing Microstructure and characterisation Microma=echanics and mechanics of deformation Damage micromechanisms and mechanics of failure Applications.

Fundamentals of metal-matrix composites

The processing, mechanical analysis, and performance of functionally graded materials containing a metallic phase is reviewed in two parts. This first part focuses on processing, and distinguishes two principal process Classes in graded materials production. The first class, termed ‘constructive processes’, produces gradients by stacking selectively two or more starting materials, allowing full and potentially automated control of compositional gradients. The second class is termed ‘transport based processes’ and utilises natural transport phenomena to create compositional and microstructural gradients during production of a component. Timescales for relevant transport phenomena are evaluated and compared to usual processing times to assess their role and importance in both functionally graded materials process classes. Constructive processes comprise chiefly powder consolidation processes, such as solid state powder metallurgy or reactive sintering, and coating processes, such as plasma spraying ...

Functionally graded metals and metal-ceramic composites: Part 1 Processing

Fundamentals of materials processes wherein a reinforcing phase is combined with bulk molten metal are reviewed. Capillary phenomena which govern the incorporation of the reinforcement into the matrix are discussed first, with focus on thermodynamics, mechanics, and chemistry of wetting. Engineering strategies that have been adopted to increase reinforcement wettability are also addressed. Relevant transport phenomena are covered next, with focus on the infiltration process and the rheology of composite slurries. The last section of this review is concerned with solidification of the matrix after it has been combined with the reinforcement, including nucleation and growth of the matrix, and particle pushing by the solidifying metal. This review places emphasis on the physical phenomena that govern the processing and the microstructural development of cast metal matrix composites.

Andreas Mortensen

Papers

Fundamentals of functionally graded materials

Geometrically necessary dislocations and strain-gradient plasticity: a few critical issues

Fundamentals of metal-matrix composites

Functionally graded metals and metal-ceramic composites: Part 1 Processing

Solidification Processing Of Metal Matrix Composites