Thickness-dependent mechanical properties of nacre in Cristaria plicata shell:Critical role of interfaces

The thickness dependence of mechanical properties of nacre in Cristaria plicata shell was studied under three-point bending tests.The results show that the mechanical behavior of nacre exhibits a strong thickness dependence.The bending strength firstly increases with the increase of specimen thickness and then becomes roughly constant as the thickness reaches a certain value of∼2.5mm.However,the mean value of work per unit volume increases constantly with increasing specimen thickness;meanwhile,the cracking mode changes from penetration into the platelets to deflection along the interfaces.The theoretical analyses indicate that the thickness-dependent mechanical properties of nacre are mainly caused by the variation in the number of inter-lamellar interfaces.The more the number of inter-lamellar interfaces is,the higher the strength and work of fracture of nacre under bending tests will be.However,as the number of inter-lamellar interfaces reaches a certain value(e.g.,in the present specimen with 2.5mm thickness),the strength tends to remain constant,while the work of fracture still increases.Therefore,the present research findings are expected to provide a valuable guidance for the interfacial design of nacre-like materials with high strength and toughness.