Fig. 2.

Mechanical behavior of nacre-like composites with varying mineral bridge fraction. Stress–strain curves from flexural tests (A) show that the elastic modulus (B) and strength (C) increase with mineral bridging fraction up to 900 °C. Thereafter, the strength and modulus decrease for the 1,000 °C sintered sample. Cartoons shown in C illustrate the transition in failure mode as the mineral bridge fraction is increased. (D) Stress intensity factor K_I as a function of midspan deflection measured for single edge notched beams under bending. The noncatastrophic nature of the fracture process is evidenced by the several data points detected after the peak stress. (E) The fracture toughness, K_IC, and (F) work of fracture both increase with mineral bridge fraction γ, despite the loss of stiffness and strength at sintering temperatures above 900 °C.