Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Science, Wageningen University , Dreijenplein 6, NL-6703 HB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Biomacromolecules. 2014 Apr 14;15(4):1233-9. doi: 10.1021/bm401810w. Epub 2014 Mar 17.
Many biological materials are composite structures, interpenetrating networks of different types of fibers. The composite nature of such networks leads to superior mechanical properties, but the origin of this mechanical synergism is still poorly understood. Here we study soft composite networks, made by mixing two self-assembling fiber-forming components. We find that the elastic moduli of the composite networks significantly exceed the sum of the moduli of the two individual networks. This mechanical enhancement is in agreement with recent simulations, where it was attributed to a suppression of non-affine deformation modes in the most rigid fiber network due to the reaction forces in the softer network. The increase in affinity also causes a loss of strain hardening and an increase in the critical stress and stain at which the network fails.
许多生物材料都是复合结构，由不同类型的纤维相互交织而成。这种网络的复合性质导致了优异的机械性能，但这种机械协同作用的起源仍不清楚。在这里，我们研究了由两种自组装纤维形成成分混合而成的软复合材料网络。我们发现，复合材料网络的弹性模量显著超过两个单独网络的模量之和。这种机械增强与最近的模拟结果一致，在模拟中，由于较软网络中的反作用力，最硬纤维网络中的非仿射变形模式受到抑制，从而导致了这种机械增强。亲和力的增加也导致应变硬化的损失，以及网络失效时的临界应力和应变的增加。
