Nature inspired hybrid ceramic composites
Devi Lal, Eugenio Garcia, and Sanjay Sampath
The application of ceramics in structural application is limited due to their low strength and toughness. Therefore, designing and fabricating ceramics that exhibit adequate strength and toughness is of Engineering importance. Nature has demonstrated, it can be achieved by engineering a combination of microstructure and materials. One such example is the nacre. Recent studies have shown that by controlling thermal spraying processes and infiltrating the second phase of materials in the sprayed materials afterward, it is possible to harness nacre-like microstructure and properties. In this work, we have fabricated two distinct thermal spray ceramic templates, one analogous to nacre and one regular thermal spray template, and infiltrated them with a solution of Al(PO4). The effect of Al(PO4) viscosity, curing temperature and initial coating microstructure on various mechanical properties has studied and compared in this study.