Three-Dimensional Printing Biomimetic Ceramic Composites Inspired by the Desert Scorpion with Excellent Erosion Wear...

Inspired by the erosion-resistant dorsal armor of the desert scorpion, this study developed biomimetic ZTA ceramic composites with enhanced resistance to solid particle erosion. Three biomimetic configurations, namely convex-bump (CH-O), convex-curved-surface (CH-CS), and convex hybrid rigid-flexible (CH-HS) structures, were fabricated by direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing. Their erosion performance was evaluated by gas-solid two-phase erosion tests at impact angles ranging from 15° to 90°, and the underlying mechanisms were elucidated through erosion morphology analysis, actual impact angle analysis, and stress-wave propagation analysis. The results showed that the erosion rate of all samples first increased and then decreased with increasing impact angle, reaching a maximum at around 60°. Compared with the smooth control sample, CH-O exhibited lower erosion resistance under low-angle erosion conditions but showed clear improvement under high-angle erosion conditions, with the erosion resistance increased by 18.39-32.54%. CH-CS further improved the erosion resistance of CH-O, with enhancements of 14.31-53.92% at low impact angles and 24.57-35.17% at high impact angles. Among all the biomimetic designs, CH-HS exhibited the best overall erosion resistance, showing an additional improvement of 9.22-32.16% over CH-CS across the tested impact angle range. The superior erosion resistance was attributed to the synergistic effects of convex-bump morphology, curved-surface-induced particle deflection, and rigid-flexible coupling. These biomimetic features modified the actual impact angle of the particles, deflected their trajectories, reduced direct particle impact, and generated a shadow effect, while the flexible layer dissipated impact energy through reflection unloading at the rigid-flexible interface. This study provides a novel strategy for the biomimetic design of erosion-resistant ceramic composites and offers new insights into mitigating erosion damage in ceramic-based mechanical components.