Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
materials based on the “design principles” active in nature.
7-9
For
mimicking the structure and mechanical properties of biological
composites, detailed investigation of the mechanical properties of the
native materials is required. Biomimesis also includes exciting
developments involving novel materials processing techniques aimed at
the generation of hierarchical and complicated structures.
Nanoindentation has emerged as a leading technique for
characterizing the mechanical behavior of engineering materials, and
is emerging as an increasingly popular technique for the study of
biological and biomimetic materials. Traditional mechanical testing, such
as a tensile test, involves the gripping of a sample with an approximately
constant cross-sectional area (
A
0
) and pulling (or pushing in
compression) in a direction perpendicular to the cross-section. A large
volume
V
of material is loaded during this type of test, equal to the
product of the sample gage length (
l
0
) and
A
0
;
V
is similar in magnitude
to the total sample volume
V
0
(less only the gripped region). In contrast,
Figure 1-3. A schematic illustration of the mechanically tested volume (
V
) relative to the
total sample volume (
V
0
). Other variables are defined in the text.
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