Open Access

ARTICLE

Microstructural Dependence of Friction and Wear Behavior in Biological Shells

by Xin Wang^1,3, Ying Yan^1,3, Hongmei Ji^1,3,*, Xiaowu Li^1,2,*

1 Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Material Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China
3 Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials, Ministry of Education, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

* Corresponding Authors: Hongmei Ji. Email: ; Xiaowu Li. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Microstructure-Related Toughening Mechanisms in Biological, Biobased or Bioinspired Materials)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2023, 11(8), 3297-3308. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2023.027066

Received 12 October 2022; Accepted 13 December 2022; Issue published 26 June 2023

Abstract

As an essential renewable mineral resource, mollusk shells can be used as handicrafts, building materials, adsorbents, etc. However, there are few reports on the wear resistance of their structures. The Vicker’s hardness and friction, and wear resistance of different microstructures in mollusk shells were comparatively studied in the present work. The hardness of prismatic structures is lower than that of cross-lamellar and nacreous structures. However, the experimental results of sliding tests indicate that the prismatic structure exhibits the best anti-wear ability compared with foliated, crossed-lamellar, and nacreous structures. The anti-wear and hardness do not present a positive correlation, as the wear resistance properties of different microstructures in mollusk shells are governed jointly by organic matrix, structural arrangement, and basic building block actions. The present research findings are expected to provide fundamental insight into the design of renewable bionic materials with high wear resistance.

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