Natural composite materials are renowned for their mechanical strength and toughness: despite being highly mineralized, with the organic component constituting not more than a few per cent of the composite material, the fracture toughness exceeds that of single crystals of the pure mineral by two to three orders of magnitude. The judicious placement of the organic matrix, relative to the mineral phase, and the hierarchical structural architecture extending over several distinct length scales both play crucial roles in the mechanical response of natural composites to external loads. Here we use transmission electron microscopy studies and beam bending experiments to show that the resistance of the shell of the conch Strombus gigas to catastrophic fracture can be understood quantitatively by invoking two energy-dissipating mechanisms: multiple microcracking in the outer layers at low mechanical loads, and crack bridging in the shell's tougher middle layers at higher loads. Both mechanisms are intimately associated with the so-called crossed lamellar microarchitecture of the shell, which provides for 'channel' cracking in the outer layers and uncracked structural features that bridge crack surfaces, thereby significantly increasing the work of fracture, and hence the toughness, of the material. Despite a high mineral content of about 99% (by volume) of aragonite, the shell of Strombus gigas can thus be considered a 'ceramic plywood' and can guide the biomimetic design of tough, lightweight structures.

Many organisms construct structural ceramic (biomineral) composites from seemingly mundane materials; cell-mediated processes control both the nucleation and growth of mineral and the development of composite microarchitecture. Living systems fabricate biocomposites by: (i) confining biomineralization within specific subunit compartments; (ii) producing a specific mineral with defined crystal size and orientation; and (iii) packaging many incremental units together in a moving front process to form fully densified, macroscopic structures. By adapting biological principles, materials scientists are attempting to produce novel materials. To date, neither the elegance of the biomineral assembly mechanisms nor the intricate composite microarchitectures have been duplicated by nonbiological processing. However, substantial progress has been made in the understanding of how biomineralization occurs, and the first steps are now being taken to exploit the basic principles involved.

The stability of tetragonal ZrOz particles in ceramic matrices was considered, with particular reference to A1203-Zr02 composites and to partially stabilized ZrOZ. In both systems, particles above a "critical" size transform martensitically to monoclinic symmetry on cooling to room temperature. The critical factors that could affect the size dependence of the transformation temperature -surface and strain energy effects, the chemical free energy driving force, and the difficulty of nucleating the martensitic transformation -were considered. Nucleation arguments are probably the most important.

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