Fiber-Reinforced Viscoelastomers Show Extraordinary Crack Resistance That Exceeds Metals

Soft fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs), consisting of rubbery matrices and rigid fabrics, are widely utilized in industry because they possess high specific strength in tension while allowing flexural deformation under bending or twisting. Nevertheless, existing soft FRPs are relatively weak against crack propagation due to interfacial delamination, which substantially increases their risk of failure during use. In this work, a class of soft FRPs that possess high specific strength while simultaneously showing extraordinary crack resistance are developed. The strategy is to synthesize tough viscoelastic matrices from acrylate monomers in the presence of woven fabrics, which generates soft composites with a strong interface and interlocking structure. Such composites exhibit fracture energy, Γ, of up to 2500 kJ m^-2 , exceeding the toughest existing materials. Experimental elucidation shows that the fracture energy obeys a simple relation, Γ = W · l_T , where W is the volume-weighted average of work of extension at fracture of the two components and l_T is the force transfer length that scales with the square root of fiber/matrix modulus ratio. Superior Γ is achieved through a combination of extraordinarily large l_T (10-100 mm), resulting from the extremely high fiber/matrix modulus ratios (10⁴ -10⁵ ), and the maximized energy dissipation density, W. The elucidated quantitative relationship provides guidance toward the design of extremely tough soft composites.