Multi‐material 3D printing of functionally graded hierarchical soft–hard composites

Hard biological tissues (e.g., nacre and bone) have evolved for millions of years, enabling them to overcome the conflict between different mechanical properties. The key to their success lies in the combination of limited material ingredients (i.e., hard and soft constituents) and mechanistic ingredients (e.g., functional gradients and building...

Mechanics of bioinspired functionally graded soft-hard composites made by multi-material 3D printing

Functional gradients are material transitions that are found in nature and are known to result in materials with superior properties and multiple functionalities. The emerging multi-material 3D printing (=additive manufacturing, AM) techniques provide a powerful tool for the design and fabrication of bioinspired functionally graded materials ...

Fracture Behavior of Bio-Inspired Functionally Graded Soft–Hard Composites Made by Multi-Material 3D Printing: The Case of Colinear Cracks

The functional gradient is a concept often occurring in nature. This concept can be implemented in the design and fabrication of advanced materials with specific functionalities and properties. Functionally graded materials (FGMs) can effectively eliminate the interface problems in extremely hard–soft connections, and, thus, have numerous and...