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Advanced Structural Materials by Bioinspiration
Author(s) -
Libonati Flavia,
Buehler Markus J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201600787
Subject(s) - natural materials , construction engineering , nanotechnology , biochemical engineering , structural material , natural (archaeology) , materials science , systems engineering , computer science , engineering , civil engineering , polymer science , biology , paleontology
In the quest of increasing safety and efficiency in structural applications, learning from natural materials can be a promising approach. Nature has evolved for billions of years to develop elaborate strategies, achieving optimal material solutions. A brief review of exemplar natural materials is provided here, with a focus on their multiscale structures. The design motifs, common to biological structural materials, are summarized, with a highlight on the structure‐property relationship. A review of recent advancement in the manufacturing of bio‐inspired composites is given, followed by recent and successful case studies. Finally, a critical discussion, highlighting the limitations of the current techniques, and prospecting the future challenges for the design of novel materials for engineering applications.