Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening

Abstract Fracture resistance presents a pivotal challenge in mechanical metamaterials, as traditional designs often fail to mitigate crack propagation and enhance energy dissipation. Despite efforts to enlarge the fracture process zone, energy dissipation remains highly localized near the crack tip,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhiqiang Meng, Peidong Lei, Boyuan Hou, Bin Liu, Yifan Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62007-2
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849342944402735104
author Zhiqiang Meng
Peidong Lei
Boyuan Hou
Bin Liu
Yifan Wang
author_facet Zhiqiang Meng
Peidong Lei
Boyuan Hou
Bin Liu
Yifan Wang
author_sort Zhiqiang Meng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Fracture resistance presents a pivotal challenge in mechanical metamaterials, as traditional designs often fail to mitigate crack propagation and enhance energy dissipation. Despite efforts to enlarge the fracture process zone, energy dissipation remains highly localized near the crack tip, restricting improvements in fracture toughness. This study introduces dual-bond fracture metamaterials that integrate weak and strong bonds to achieve full-field energy dissipation before crack propagation. Through the sequential breaking of weak bonds and the formation of plastic hinges, these materials redistribute stress across the entire structure, significantly expanding the fracture process zone and enhancing toughness. The specific fracture energy, a metric we propose to characterize structural fracture resistance, is governed by extrinsic energy dissipation and scales linearly with specimen size. Additionally, the concept of an equivalent force concentration factor is introduced to characterize fracture behavior in dual-bond fracture metamaterials. Gradient designs further enable asymmetric fracture sensitivity and surface crack shielding, thereby improving resilience in defect-prone environments. These metamaterials offer versatility, with potential applications in protective nets, shock absorbers, and blast containment vessels. Finally, the dual-bond design can be realized with a variety of materials, highlighting its generality and broad applicability for diverse engineering applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-d6801eacae894d778b32d15a0c8c8d66
institution Kabale University
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-d6801eacae894d778b32d15a0c8c8d662025-08-20T03:43:12ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111610.1038/s41467-025-62007-2Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic tougheningZhiqiang Meng0Peidong Lei1Boyuan Hou2Bin Liu3Yifan Wang4School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang AvenueAML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua UniversitySchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang AvenueAML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua UniversitySchool of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang AvenueAbstract Fracture resistance presents a pivotal challenge in mechanical metamaterials, as traditional designs often fail to mitigate crack propagation and enhance energy dissipation. Despite efforts to enlarge the fracture process zone, energy dissipation remains highly localized near the crack tip, restricting improvements in fracture toughness. This study introduces dual-bond fracture metamaterials that integrate weak and strong bonds to achieve full-field energy dissipation before crack propagation. Through the sequential breaking of weak bonds and the formation of plastic hinges, these materials redistribute stress across the entire structure, significantly expanding the fracture process zone and enhancing toughness. The specific fracture energy, a metric we propose to characterize structural fracture resistance, is governed by extrinsic energy dissipation and scales linearly with specimen size. Additionally, the concept of an equivalent force concentration factor is introduced to characterize fracture behavior in dual-bond fracture metamaterials. Gradient designs further enable asymmetric fracture sensitivity and surface crack shielding, thereby improving resilience in defect-prone environments. These metamaterials offer versatility, with potential applications in protective nets, shock absorbers, and blast containment vessels. Finally, the dual-bond design can be realized with a variety of materials, highlighting its generality and broad applicability for diverse engineering applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62007-2
spellingShingle Zhiqiang Meng
Peidong Lei
Boyuan Hou
Bin Liu
Yifan Wang
Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
Nature Communications
title Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
title_full Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
title_fullStr Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
title_full_unstemmed Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
title_short Dual-bond fracture metamaterials with full-field extrinsic toughening
title_sort dual bond fracture metamaterials with full field extrinsic toughening
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62007-2
work_keys_str_mv AT zhiqiangmeng dualbondfracturemetamaterialswithfullfieldextrinsictoughening
AT peidonglei dualbondfracturemetamaterialswithfullfieldextrinsictoughening
AT boyuanhou dualbondfracturemetamaterialswithfullfieldextrinsictoughening
AT binliu dualbondfracturemetamaterialswithfullfieldextrinsictoughening
AT yifanwang dualbondfracturemetamaterialswithfullfieldextrinsictoughening