Effect of Porosity Gradient on Mechanical Properties of Cellular Nano-Composites

With their hierarchical architectures incorporating gradients in composition, porosity, and orientation, natural materials have evolved optimized balance of mechanical properties. Deciphered from the structure of bamboo, we prepared cellular solids with convex and/or concave porosity gradient and investigated their static mechanical and impact properties. Non-monotonous porosity dependences of tensile, crush, and impact strength were related to the shape of porosity gradient rather than to the properties of the wall material alone. Our results provide experimental evidence, that novel mechanically robust low density additively fabricated cellular nano-composites with convex porosity gradient satisfy the structural requirements of lightweight engineering parts. Moreover, novel functions, such as reduced flammability or electrical conductivity, can easily be introduced by selecting the type and spatial organization of nanoparticles and cellular structure of the cellular micro-particles (CMPs).