Buitrago-Osorio J., Bardon J., Bulou S., Ruch D., Quintana R., Fuentes C.A.
Iccm International Conferences on Composite Materials, 2025
Nature's materials achieve exceptional fracture resistance through architectural control, as exemplified by nacre's crack-deflection mechanisms. Inspired by this principle, we engineer composite interfaces at the microscale by patterning carbon and glass fibres with alternating adhesion zones. Using a custom atmospheric pressure plasma CVD torch, we deposit spatially controlled 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) coatings with 200 µm periodicity, creating regions of high and low interfacial shear strength. This approach circumvents the limitations of bulk biomimicry by directly manipulating the critical fibre-matrix interface where fracture initiates. Computational modelling reveals the transformative potential of this architecture. Finite element analysis predicts an 80% increase in debonding lengths compared to uniformly treated fibres, while retaining 95% of interfacial shear strength-effectively decoupling the classical strength-toughness trade-off. Molecular dynamics simulations further elucidate the underlying mechanism: sequential bond rupture in high-adhesion zones transitions to progressive interfacial sliding in untreated regions, enabling 40% greater energy dissipation through controlled stress redistribution. These findings align with nacre's hierarchical energy management strategy, translated here to synthetic composites. The atmospheric plasma process demonstrates significant scalability, operating at ambient conditions with fibre translation speeds exceeding 10 m/min. Experimental validation of these computational predictions through micro-droplet pull-out tests is currently underway. By establishing a direct pathway for integrating bioinspired interfaces into industrial manufacturing, this work opens new frontiers for designing damage-tolerant composites where interfacial architecture actively governs fracture behavior.
