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Microstructure observation and mechanical behavior modeling for limnetic nacre

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Abstract

In the present research, microstructure of a kind of limnetic shell (Hyriopsis cumingii) is observed and measured by using the scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical behavior experiments of the shell nacre are carried out by using bending and tensile tests. The dependence of mechanical properties of the shell nacre on its microstructure is analyzed by using a modified shear-lag model, and the overall stress–strain relation is obtained. The experimental results reveal that the mechanical properties of shell nacre strongly depend on the water contents of the limnetic shell. Dry nacre shows a brittle behavior, whereas wetting nacre displays a strong ductility. Compared to the tensile test, the bending test overestimates the strength and underestimates the Young’s modulus. The modified shear-lag model can characterize the deformation features of nacre effectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LNM Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100080, Beijing, China

    Shuchun Zuo & Yueguang Wei

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  1. Shuchun Zuo
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  2. Yueguang Wei
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Correspondence to Yueguang Wei.

Additional information

The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10432050, 10428207 and 10672163), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX2-YW-M04) and the Institute of Mechanics through Innovation Project.

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Zuo, S., Wei, Y. Microstructure observation and mechanical behavior modeling for limnetic nacre. Acta Mech. Sin. 24, 83–89 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-007-0125-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-007-0125-y

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