image: The dual-phase interpenetrating architecture was came out from the microstructure of natural materials. Based on the such unique structure, bioinspired P/CCSs was designed and fabricated via 3D printing and infiltration. It was demonstrated that catastrophic destroy didn’t happen on P/CCSs. They maintained integrity under large deformation. Additionally, P/CCSs performed superior strength and energy absorption of P/CCSs under both quasi-static and dynamic compressions, achieving lightweight and excellent mechanical properties simultaneously.
Credit: Journal of Advanced Ceramics, Tsinghua University Press
Cellular ceramic structures (CCSs) fabricated via three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies are promising candidates for structural components due to their lightweight characteristics and exceptional strength. Although notable achievements have been made in researches of CCSs, achieving superior strength and energy absorption simultaneously remains a challenge for CCSs. This stems from the contradiction between load-bearing capacity and damage tolerance of ceramics. When overloaded, CCSs fail to dissipate excess energy, leading to abrupt and catastrophic destroy. Such catastrophic failure hinders the applications of CCSs. Therefore, enhancing the energy absorption of CCSs is the top priority to rendering them compelling candidates for structural components.
The ingenious dual-phase interpenetrating architecture in natural materials offers an elegant and creative strategy to mitigate the adverse effect of the brittleness of CCSs. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that incorporating a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture is an effective strategy to enhance the damage tolerance of CCSs under quasi-static loading. However, researches on CCSs-based dual-phase interpenetrating composites under dynamic loading remains scarce. Notably, structural components are subjected to not only quasi-static loading but also dynamic impact in practical application. Moreover, structural parameters play critical roles in governing the mechanical properties of dual-phase interpenetrating composites. However, how structural parameters affect mechanical properties of CCSs-based dual-phase interpenetrating composites remains unclear. Hence, elucidating the mechanical properties of CCSs-based dual-phase interpenetrating composites under both quasi-static and dynamic loading is of great significance. Revealing the influence of structural parameters is another central objective of this work.
Recently, Xueqin Zhang from Taiyuan University of Technology reported a bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating composite, i.e., polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures (P/CCSs). The quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties of P/CCSs were systematically investigated. How structural parameters affect the mechanical properties of P/CCSs was further revealed. This work establishes a foundation for optimizing the performance of CCSs, thereby facilitating the development of structural materials.
The team published their work in Journal of Advanced Ceramics on May 15, 2025.
“In this report, we fabricated Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures (CCSs) via digital light processing technology. Three structural configurations and three relative densities of CCSs were involved in this work. Subsequently, polyurea was infiltrated into Al2O3 CCSs to fabricate the P/CCSs. Mechanical properties of P/CCSs under quasi-static compression and dynamic impact were analyzed.” said Xueqin Zhang.
“Due to the polyurea network, P/CCSs maintained integrity under large deformation instead of experiencing catastrophic fracture. It was concluded that polyurea not only strengthened the CCSs but also tremendously improved their quasi-static energy absorption of CCSs by more than an order of magnitude. Notably, P/CCSs remained in contact even when the strain reached up 0.6. The load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability of P/CCSs under impact were 1.07–1.85 and 3.31–10.94 times those of CCSs without polyurea.” said Xueqin Zhang.
“P/CCSs with different structural configurations and relative densities performed differently in strength and energy absorption. We revealed the relationships between mechanical properties and structural parameters of P/CCSs, laying the foundation for tailoring their mechanical properties. Furthermore, the added polyurea did not compromise the mechanical properties of pristine CCSs but rather achieved broad tuning of specific compressive strength and energy absorption, outperforming most reported cellular metal structures and cellular polymer structures.” said Rujie He, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing (China), who has focused on the field of additively manufactured ceramics for many years.
However, more research on P/CCSs is still needed to explore. In this regard, Zhang emphasizes that the effect of interface behavior between Al2O3 CCSs and polyurea on the strength and energy absorption of P/CCSs needs to be explored in depth. While the fracture mechanism of P/CCSs was preliminarily discussed, it still needs to be further investigated using the finite element method.
Other contributors include Ruyue Su, Xiong Gao, Jingyi Chen, and Rujie He at the Institute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52275310).
About Authors
Xueqin Zhang (First Author) is a lecturer at Taiyuan University of Technology. She specializes in additive manufacturing of ceramic components, mechanical properties of cellular ceramic structures and ceramic-based composites.
Rujie He (Corresponding Author) is a Full Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Institute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China. His research interests primarily focus on the 3D printing of ceramics and their composites for extreme environments involving high temperatures, high strain rates, and multi-physics fields. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed SCI papers in this field.
About Journal of Advanced Ceramics
Journal of Advanced Ceramics (JAC) is an international academic journal that presents the state-of-the-art results of theoretical and experimental studies on the processing, structure, and properties of advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites. JAC is Fully Open Access, monthly published by Tsinghua University Press, and exclusively available via SciOpen. JAC’s 2023 IF is 18.6, ranking in Top 1 (1/31, Q1) among all journals in “Materials Science, Ceramics” category, and its 2023 CiteScore is 21.0 (top 5%) in Scopus database. ResearchGate homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Advanced-Ceramics-2227-8508
Journal
Journal of Advanced Ceramics
Article Title
3D-printed polyurea-toughened Al2O3 cellular ceramic structures: Bioinspired dual-phase interpenetrating design for superior mechanical properties
Article Publication Date
15-May-2025