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Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , On the systematic documentation of the structural characteristics of bovine enamel: A critic to the protein sheath concept(2018-10); ; The common structural description of bovine enamel used in materials science studies – nano-sized hydroxyapatite crystallites form micron-sized prisms surrounded by protein sheaths, which in turn build a complex decussation pattern – overlook many important morphological information. This hampers the correct interpretation of the data determined by mechanical analysis. For a profound structural description of enamel morphology, the visualization of its building blocks by high-resolution electron microscopy and focused-ion beam tomography technique, which reveals their form, orientation and configuration at different regions of a tooth (cut in different directions), is undertaken in this work. We adapted here the paleontological classification system and terminology developed for the description of enamel microstructures seen in different species, and accordingly documented the morphological singularities of bovine incisor enamel. The appearance of the boundary regions between crystallites and prisms contradicts to the well-known protein sheath concept. Neighboring crystallites and prisms are not separated by prominent gap zones but they are largely in contact with each other. Proteins might exist within the pores of 20–30 nm in size, which are distributed inhomogeneously through the boundary regions, rather than as protein sheaths covering each crystallite and prism.Publicationtype: Journal Article221 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Multiscale experimental and computational investigation of nature’s design principle of hierarchies in dental enamel(Springer, 2018); ; ; ; Dental enamel possesses extraordinary mechanical properties due to a complex hierarchical and graded microstructure. In this study, multiscale experimental and computational approaches are employed and combined to study nature’s design principle of the hierarchical structure of bovine enamel for developing bioinspired advanced ceramics with hierarchical microstructure. Micro-cantilever beam tests are carried out to characterize the mechanical properties from nano-to mesoscale experimentally. In order to understand the relationship between the hierarchical structure and the flaw-tolerance behavior of enamel, a 3D representative volume element (RVE) is used in a numerical analysis to study the deformation and damage process at two hierarchical levels. A continuum damage mechanics model coupled to hyperelasticity is developed for modeling the initiation and evolution of damage in the mineral fibers as well as protein matrix. Moreover, debonding of the interface between mineral fiber and protein is captured by a cohesive zone model. The effect of an initial flaw on the overall mechanical properties is analyzed at different hierarchical levels to understand the superior damage tolerance of dental enamel. Based on the experimental and computational investigation, the role of hierarchical levels on the multiscale design of structure in dental enamel is revealed for optimizing bio-inspired composites.Publicationtype: Book Part190 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Hierarchical microcrack model for materials exemplified at enamelThis article investigates the mechanical properties of a material with hierarchically arranged microcracks.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 7 307 458 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Ultrastructural and mechanical characterization of bovine enamel at multiple length scalesPublicationtype: Doctoral Thesis43 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Exceptionally strong, stiff and hard hybrid material based on an elastomer and isotropically shaped ceramic nanoparticles(Nature Publishing Group, 2017-08-04); ; ; ; In this work the fabrication of hard, stiff and strong nanocomposites based on polybutadiene and iron oxide nanoparticles is presented. The nanocomposites are fabricated via a general concept for mechanically superior nanocomposites not based on the brick and mortar structure, thus on globular nanoparticles with nanosized organic shells. For the fabrication of the composites oleic acid functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles are decorated via ligand exchange with an α,ω-polybutadiene dicarboxylic acid. The functionalized particles were processed at 145 °C. Since polybutadiene contains double bonds the nanocomposites obtained a crosslinked structure which was enhanced by the presence of oxygen or sulfur. It was found that the crosslinking and filler percolation yields high elastic moduli of approximately 12-20 GPa and hardness of 15-18 GPa, although the polymer volume fraction is up to 40%. We attribute our results to a catalytically enhanced crosslinking reaction of the polymer chains induced by oxygen or sulfur and to the microstructure of the nanocomposite.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 12 450 717 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Mechanical behavior of enamel rods under micro-compressionExploring the structural strategies behind the optimized mechanical performance of hierarchical materials has been a focal point of extensive research over the past decades. Dental enamel is one such natural material, comprising a complicated hierarchical structure with a high level of mineral content. Bundles of hydroxyapatite nanofibers (level-1) Ø: 50 nm form enamel rods (level-2) Ø: 5 µm, which constitute bands (level-3) Ø: 50 µm. While a number of studies in the last decade using advanced fracture mechanical methods have revealed an increasing trend in the fracture toughness of enamel with each additional level of hierarchy, there is still no general agreement on how hierarchical structuring affects the stiffness and strength of enamel. In this study, we identified the stiffness and strength values of the isolated rods (level-2) via micro-compression. The rods were tested in three different orientations with respect to the loading direction: parallel, perpendicular and oblique. The highest stress level withstood before catastrophic fracture was observed to be ~1500 MPa in perpendicular orientation. In the oblique loading, the specimens failed by shearing and exhibited a damage-tolerant deformation behavior, which was attributed to the conjugation spots identified between the rods and interrod sheets. The elastic modulus was ~60 GPa on average and similar in all orientations. The isotropy in stiffness was attributed to the mineral contacts residing between rods. This was verified by an analytical model derived for level-1 and extended over higher hierarchical levels. The experimental results obtained at level-2 were comparable to the compressive strength and stiffness values reported for level-1 and bulk enamel in the literature. In general, our results suggest that hierarchy has only a minor influence on the compressive properties of enamel.Publicationtype: Journal Article91 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Organically linked iron oxide nanoparticle supercrystals with exceptional isotropic mechanical properties(2016-05-01); ; ; ; It is commonly accepted that the combination of the anisotropic shape and nanoscale dimensions of the mineral constituents of natural biological composites underlies their superior mechanical properties when compared to those of their rather weak mineral and organic constituents. Here, we show that the self-assembly of nearly spherical iron oxide nanoparticles in supercrystals linked together by a thermally induced crosslinking reaction of oleic acid molecules leads to a nanocomposite with exceptional bending modulus of 114 GPa, hardness of up to 4 GPa and strength of up to 630 MPa. By using a nanomechanical model, we determined that these exceptional mechanical properties are dominated by the covalent backbone of the linked organic molecules. Because oleic acid has been broadly used as nanoparticle ligand, our crosslinking approach should be applicable to a large variety of nanoparticle systems.Publicationtype: Journal Article158 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Damage modeling of small-scale experiments on dental enamel with hierarchical microstructure(Elsevier, 2015-12); ; ; ; Dental enamel is a highly anisotropic and heterogeneous material, which exhibits an optimal reliability with respect to the various loads occurring over years. In this work, enamel's microstructure of parallel aligned rods of mineral fibers is modeled and mechanical properties are evaluated in terms of strength and toughness with the help of a multiscale modeling method. The established model is validated by comparing it with the stress-strain curves identified by microcantilever beam experiments extracted from these rods. Moreover, in order to gain further insight in the damage-tolerant behavior of enamel, the size of crystallites below which the structure becomes insensitive to flaws is studied by a microstructural finite element model. The assumption regarding the fiber strength is verified by a numerical study leading to accordance of fiber size and flaw tolerance size, and the debonding strength is estimated by optimizing the failure behavior of the microstructure on the hierarchical level above the individual fibers. Based on these well-grounded properties, the material behavior is predicted well by homogenization of a representative unit cell including damage, taking imperfections (like microcracks in the present case) into account.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 27 363 339 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Influence of structural hierarchy on the fracture behaviour of tooth enamel(2015-03-28); ; Tooth enamel has the critical role of enabling the mastication of food and also of protecting the underlying vital dentin and pulp structure. Unlike most vital tissue, enamel has no ability to repair or remodel and as such has had to develop robust damage tolerance to withstand contact fatigue events throughout the lifetime of a species. To achieve such behaviour, enamel has evolved a complex hierarchical structure that varies slightly between different species. The major component of enamel is apatite in the form of crystallite fibres with a nanometresized diameter that extend from the dentin-enamel junction to the oral surface. These crystallites are bound together by proteins and peptides into a range of hierarchical structures from micrometre diameter prisms to 50-100ìm diameter bundles of prisms known as Hunter-Schreger bands. As a consequence of such complex structural organization, the damage tolerance of enamel increases through various toughening mechanisms in the hierarchy but at the expense of fracture strength. This review critically evaluates the role of hierarchy on the development of the R-curve and the stress-strain behaviour. It attempts to identify and quantify the multiple mechanisms responsible for this behaviour as well as their impact on damage tolerance.Publicationtype: Journal Article107 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Uniaxial compressive behavior of micro-pillars of dental enamel characterized in multiple directionsIn this work, the compressive elastic modulus and failure strength values of bovine enamel at the first hierarchical level formed by hydroxyapatite (HA) nanofibers and organic matter are identified in longitudinal, transverse and oblique direction with the uniaxial micro-compression method. The elastic modulus values (∼70 GPa) measured here are within the range of results reported in the literature but these values were found surprisingly uniform in all orientations as opposed to the previous nanoindentation findings revealing anisotropic elastic properties in enamel. Failure strengths were recorded up to ∼1.7 GPa and different failure modes (such as shear, microbuckling, fiber fracture) governed by the orientation of the HA nanofibers were visualized. Structural irregularities leading to mineral contacts between the nanofibers are postulated as the main reason for the high compressive strength and direction- independent elastic behavior on enamels first hierarchical level.Publicationtype: Journal Article62