2025/05/15 by Xueqin Zhang, Ruyue Su, Xiong Gao +2 · 1 voice
Engineering · #Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
paper · pdf · doi:10.26599/jac.2025.9221095
openalex publication_date 2025/05/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Cellular ceramic structures (CCSs) are promising candidates for structural components due to their low density and superior load-bearing capacity. However, the brittleness and poor energy-absorbing ability of CCSs severely limit their applications. Inspired by composites in natural materials, whose stiff and tough constituents are arranged in a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture, we proposed a dual-phase interpenetrating architecture to achieve superior strength and toughness of CCSs simultaneously. Polyurea-toughened Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> CCSs (P/CCSs) were fabricated via three-dimensional (3D) printing and infiltration. Effects of structural configuration and relative density on mechanical properties of P/CCSs under quasi-static and dynamic compressive loading were systematically discussed. It was demonstrated that polyurea effectively improved the mechanical properties of CCSs. Load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability of P/CCSs under quasi-static compressive loading were 1.22–3.64 and 57–519 times those of CCSs. Additionally, dynamic compressive strength and energy absorption of P/CCSs were 1.07–1.85 and 3.31–10.94 times those of CCSs. Furthermore, due to the incorporation of polyurea, P/CCSs maintained structural integrity under large deformation, rather than undergoing catastrophic fracture. This work provides an effective solution to mitigate the adverse effect of ceramic brittleness, rendering P/CCSs promising candidates for structural components that require superior load-bearing capacity and energy-absorbing ability simultaneously.