Modeling the Compressive Behavior of Anisotropic, Nanometer‐Scale Structured Silica

Recently, large plastic deformations were observed during compression testing of biotemplated, anisotropic, and hierarchically structured silica monoliths. Based on the material's nanometer‐scale structuring, a dynamic model is devised in which parallel silica struts are compressed, and sheared in longitudinal direction. The resulting interfacial shear forces lead to successive plastic deformations during cyclic loading with incrementally increasing forces, matching observations by mechanical testing. The authors report on the physical parameter values obtained from fitting model curves to measured ones, their relation to prior structural observations, and their utility to tailor the intricate mechanical behavior of this novel material. The mechanical behavior of biological, bioinspired, and biotemplated materials often differs greatly from their technical ‐or bulk‐ polymorphs. The axial compressive behavior of wood‐templated silica by devising a dynamic model of the fibrous structure of the former cell walls is traced. The authors present the insights obtained by fitting this model to measured curves and through the variation of single parameters.