Abstract:

Taking cues from nature’s mollusk shells, a cementitious composite has been designed to provide cementitious infrastructure with improved durability and resilience. Using a design analog to these shells’ hierarchical and multifunctional composite structure—as well as mimicking their deformation mechanisms—high energy absorption for impact and blast resistance is derived. The design consists of an extremely hard surface layer, behind which are several damage-tolerant layers, inspired by the shells’ nacre component. The experimental investigation focuses on the design and functionality of the nacre-inspired layers using both static and impact loading. Numerical parametric studies explore key factors, such as interfacial properties between layers, governing composite response. Civil infrastructural constraints (processing, cost, etc.) guide the composite development.