Bioinspired solid-liquid biphasic structures with programmable and tunable impact resistance properties

Zhixin Huang; Yun Deng; Jiguang Zhang; Yongbo Jiang; Jiajing Lei; Zihao Chen; Ying Li

doi:10.1016/j.tws.2025.114170

Bioinspired solid-liquid biphasic structures with programmable and tunable impact resistance properties

Zhixin Huang
, Yun Deng
, Jiguang Zhang
, Yongbo Jiang
, Jiajing Lei
, Zihao Chen^*
, Ying Li

^*此作品的通讯作者

珠海校区

Wuhan University of Technology
Beijing Institute of Technology
China Ship Development and Design Center

科研成果: 期刊稿件 › 文章 › 同行评审

3 引用（Scopus）

摘要

The design of impact-resistant materials for protective gear remains a critical challenge, requiring materials that can efficiently absorb energy while maintaining flexibility, i.e., the ability to undergo reversible deformation and avoid catastrophic brittle failure rather than a loss of stiffness. Inspired by the intricate microstructure of ram horns, this work proposes a novel approach incorporating biomimetic solid-liquid biphasic structure. Through optical microscopy and synchrotron tomography, we characterize the tubular cell or perforated arrangement and moisture distribution within the horn, revealing how these features contribute to its mechanical resilience. The total porosity of the horn sheath was ∼2.84 %, with the tubules and perforated comprising ∼20 % of the whole area. The horn sheath maintained a total water content of about 20±5 wt%, composed of approximately of about 10 wt% bound water and 6–14 wt% free water. Compression tests demonstrate that the hydrated horn sheaths exhibit strain rate insensitivity, and the presence of free water reduces modulus and yield strength but delays densification, thereby enhancing overall toughness. Inspired by these natural features, we design a PDMS-Ga-based biphasic structure, which exhibits low quasi-static modulus (∼1 MPa) and high energy absorption per volume (∼10⁶ J/m³) attributed to the synergistic effects of the liquid phase. In addition, as the strain rate increases, the specific energy absorption of the solid-liquid biphasic structure rises from 2.32 J/g at low strain rates to 15.04 J/g at high strain rates, resulting in a sevenfold increase in its energy dissipation effect. Correspondingly, the ultimate strength is about 8.43 MPa at a strain rate of 350 s⁻¹, but subsequently increases to 26.05 MPa at 1000 s⁻¹. This work underscores the promise of bio-inspired materials in advancing the design of next-generation protective gear, such as flexible guard and wearable electronics.

源语言	英语
期刊论文编号	114170
期刊	Thin-Walled Structures
卷	219
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2025.114170
出版状态	已出版 - 2月 2026

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title = "Bioinspired solid-liquid biphasic structures with programmable and tunable impact resistance properties",

abstract = "The design of impact-resistant materials for protective gear remains a critical challenge, requiring materials that can efficiently absorb energy while maintaining flexibility, i.e., the ability to undergo reversible deformation and avoid catastrophic brittle failure rather than a loss of stiffness. Inspired by the intricate microstructure of ram horns, this work proposes a novel approach incorporating biomimetic solid-liquid biphasic structure. Through optical microscopy and synchrotron tomography, we characterize the tubular cell or perforated arrangement and moisture distribution within the horn, revealing how these features contribute to its mechanical resilience. The total porosity of the horn sheath was ∼2.84 \%, with the tubules and perforated comprising ∼20 \% of the whole area. The horn sheath maintained a total water content of about 20±5 wt\%, composed of approximately of about 10 wt\% bound water and 6{\textendash}14 wt\% free water. Compression tests demonstrate that the hydrated horn sheaths exhibit strain rate insensitivity, and the presence of free water reduces modulus and yield strength but delays densification, thereby enhancing overall toughness. Inspired by these natural features, we design a PDMS-Ga-based biphasic structure, which exhibits low quasi-static modulus (∼1 MPa) and high energy absorption per volume (∼106 J/m3) attributed to the synergistic effects of the liquid phase. In addition, as the strain rate increases, the specific energy absorption of the solid-liquid biphasic structure rises from 2.32 J/g at low strain rates to 15.04 J/g at high strain rates, resulting in a sevenfold increase in its energy dissipation effect. Correspondingly, the ultimate strength is about 8.43 MPa at a strain rate of 350 s⁻¹, but subsequently increases to 26.05 MPa at 1000 s⁻¹. This work underscores the promise of bio-inspired materials in advancing the design of next-generation protective gear, such as flexible guard and wearable electronics.",

keywords = "Biomimetic design, Energy absorption, Impact resistance, Solid-liquid biphasic structures",

author = "Zhixin Huang and Yun Deng and Jiguang Zhang and Yongbo Jiang and Jiajing Lei and Zihao Chen and Ying Li",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.tws.2025.114170",

language = "English",

volume = "219",

journal = "Thin-Walled Structures",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Bioinspired solid-liquid biphasic structures with programmable and tunable impact resistance properties

AU - Huang, Zhixin

AU - Deng, Yun

AU - Zhang, Jiguang

AU - Jiang, Yongbo

AU - Lei, Jiajing

AU - Chen, Zihao

AU - Li, Ying

PY - 2026/2

Y1 - 2026/2

N2 - The design of impact-resistant materials for protective gear remains a critical challenge, requiring materials that can efficiently absorb energy while maintaining flexibility, i.e., the ability to undergo reversible deformation and avoid catastrophic brittle failure rather than a loss of stiffness. Inspired by the intricate microstructure of ram horns, this work proposes a novel approach incorporating biomimetic solid-liquid biphasic structure. Through optical microscopy and synchrotron tomography, we characterize the tubular cell or perforated arrangement and moisture distribution within the horn, revealing how these features contribute to its mechanical resilience. The total porosity of the horn sheath was ∼2.84 %, with the tubules and perforated comprising ∼20 % of the whole area. The horn sheath maintained a total water content of about 20±5 wt%, composed of approximately of about 10 wt% bound water and 6–14 wt% free water. Compression tests demonstrate that the hydrated horn sheaths exhibit strain rate insensitivity, and the presence of free water reduces modulus and yield strength but delays densification, thereby enhancing overall toughness. Inspired by these natural features, we design a PDMS-Ga-based biphasic structure, which exhibits low quasi-static modulus (∼1 MPa) and high energy absorption per volume (∼106 J/m3) attributed to the synergistic effects of the liquid phase. In addition, as the strain rate increases, the specific energy absorption of the solid-liquid biphasic structure rises from 2.32 J/g at low strain rates to 15.04 J/g at high strain rates, resulting in a sevenfold increase in its energy dissipation effect. Correspondingly, the ultimate strength is about 8.43 MPa at a strain rate of 350 s⁻¹, but subsequently increases to 26.05 MPa at 1000 s⁻¹. This work underscores the promise of bio-inspired materials in advancing the design of next-generation protective gear, such as flexible guard and wearable electronics.

AB - The design of impact-resistant materials for protective gear remains a critical challenge, requiring materials that can efficiently absorb energy while maintaining flexibility, i.e., the ability to undergo reversible deformation and avoid catastrophic brittle failure rather than a loss of stiffness. Inspired by the intricate microstructure of ram horns, this work proposes a novel approach incorporating biomimetic solid-liquid biphasic structure. Through optical microscopy and synchrotron tomography, we characterize the tubular cell or perforated arrangement and moisture distribution within the horn, revealing how these features contribute to its mechanical resilience. The total porosity of the horn sheath was ∼2.84 %, with the tubules and perforated comprising ∼20 % of the whole area. The horn sheath maintained a total water content of about 20±5 wt%, composed of approximately of about 10 wt% bound water and 6–14 wt% free water. Compression tests demonstrate that the hydrated horn sheaths exhibit strain rate insensitivity, and the presence of free water reduces modulus and yield strength but delays densification, thereby enhancing overall toughness. Inspired by these natural features, we design a PDMS-Ga-based biphasic structure, which exhibits low quasi-static modulus (∼1 MPa) and high energy absorption per volume (∼106 J/m3) attributed to the synergistic effects of the liquid phase. In addition, as the strain rate increases, the specific energy absorption of the solid-liquid biphasic structure rises from 2.32 J/g at low strain rates to 15.04 J/g at high strain rates, resulting in a sevenfold increase in its energy dissipation effect. Correspondingly, the ultimate strength is about 8.43 MPa at a strain rate of 350 s⁻¹, but subsequently increases to 26.05 MPa at 1000 s⁻¹. This work underscores the promise of bio-inspired materials in advancing the design of next-generation protective gear, such as flexible guard and wearable electronics.

KW - Biomimetic design

KW - Energy absorption

KW - Impact resistance

KW - Solid-liquid biphasic structures

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020776902

U2 - 10.1016/j.tws.2025.114170

DO - 10.1016/j.tws.2025.114170

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105020776902

SN - 0263-8231

VL - 219

JO - Thin-Walled Structures

JF - Thin-Walled Structures

M1 - 114170

ER -

Bioinspired solid-liquid biphasic structures with programmable and tunable impact resistance properties

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