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From brittle to ductile fracture of bone

Nature Materials volume 5, pages 52–55 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Toughness is crucial to the structural function of bone. Usually, the toughness of a material is not just determined by its composition, but by the ability of its microstructure to dissipate deformation energy without propagation of the crack1. Polymers are often able to dissipate energy by viscoplastic flow or the formation of non-connected microcracks2. In ceramics, well-known toughening mechanisms are based on crack ligament bridging and crack deflection3. Interestingly, all these phenomena were identified in bone4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, which is a composite of a fibrous polymer (collagen) and ceramic nanoparticles (carbonated hydroxyapatite)13,14,15,16. Here, we use controlled crack-extension experiments to explain the influence of fibre orientation on steering the various toughening mechanisms. We find that the fracture energy changes by two orders of magnitude depending on the collagen orientation, and the angle between collagen and crack propagation direction is decisive in switching between different toughening mechanisms.

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Figure 1: The toughening mechanisms in bone.
Figure 2: The experimental setup of the controlled crack-extension experiment.
Figure 3: Crack extension as a function of the collagen angle γ.
Figure 4: Scanning electron micrographs of the crack path.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the AUVA (Austrian Insurance for Occupational Risk), by the WGKK (Social Health Insurance Vienna) and the FWF (Austrian Science Funds, project P16880-B13). We acknowledge A. Nader from the Institute for Pathology at the Hanusch Krankenhaus in Vienna for supplying the bone tissue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials Physics, University of Vienna, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    Herwig Peterlik

  2. 4th Medical Department, Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute of Osteology at the Hanusch Hospital WGKK and AUVA Trauma Centre Meidling, Hanusch Hospital, A-1140, Vienna, Austria

    Paul Roschger & Klaus Klaushofer

  3. Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, D-14424, Potsdam, Germany

    Peter Fratzl

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  1. Herwig Peterlik
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  2. Paul Roschger
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  4. Peter Fratzl
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Correspondence to Peter Fratzl.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary appendices A, B and C and figures 1-4 (PDF 1987 kb)

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Peterlik, H., Roschger, P., Klaushofer, K. et al. From brittle to ductile fracture of bone. Nature Mater 5, 52–55 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1545

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