Fracture mechanics of nacre-like materials using discrete-element models: Effects of microstructure, interfaces and randomness

Biological materials such as nacre, bone and spider silk boast unusual combinations of stiffness, strength and toughness. Behind this performance is the staggered arrangement of stiff and elongated inclusions embedded in a softer and more deformable matrix. In this study, we use the discrete element method (DEM) to simulate large fracture models of staggered composites (up to 450,000 tablets). The models explore the combined effects of tablet...